
Class w> *^'J^^ 

Rnnk f|<^/<j 
Copyright N° 



COPVRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 




Fig. 1. Every stock farm needs its shade and water easily accessible. 



ELEMENTARY 

AGRICULTURE 



BY 

WILLIAM LEWIS NIDA, Ph.B. 

Superintendeat of Schools, 
River Forest, 111. 



€;eacf)erfii' Cbition 



A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 

CHICAGO 



S495 
U51 



Copyright, 1913 

BY 

A. Flanagan Company 



©CI.A357n!)l 



PREFACE 

IN taking up any new science it is well for teachers to 
secure the simplest text to be had in order that they 
may obtain a clear and well-grounded understanding of 
the subject before they attempt to interest pupils in it. 
This text is believed to be one of the clearest and simplest 
that has yet appeared in this field, and the publishers have 
therefore decided to issue an edition especially for teachers. 

Since a much wider field of useful information about 
farming could be brought within this teacher's edition by 
using the question and answer plan, the latter part of this 
volume is composed of "One Thousand Questions An- 
swered." They contain the most helpful points gathered 
from a wide reading in an agricultural library. It is hoped 
that by thus combining Elementary Agriculture with the 
Thousand Questions Anstvercd we are able to offer to the 
teachers what might be called many books in one. 

The book is so arranged and so carefully indexed that 
the teacher or farmer may easily find the information he is 
seeking. Morever there is nowadaj's such general interest 
in all questions pertaining to rural life and such wide- 
spread desire to follow the rally cry "Back to the Farm," 
that lil)rarians are everywhere called upon to answer many 
questions and direct many readers on the subject. The 
very full index to this book, for which credit is due Miss 
Mary E. Collins, will be found helpful to the librarian as 
well as to the teacher. 

William L. Nida. 



in 



CONTENTS 

Part I. Farm Animals 

PAGES 

CHAPTEB I. TEE HORSE 1-15 

Taming the Wild Horse — Horses Introduced in America — 
Draft Horses — Coach Horses — Roadsters — Use and Care of 
Horses — Breaking the Colt 

CHAPTER II. CATTLE 16-28 

Taming of Cattle— The Ox at Work— Beef Cattle— Dairy 
Cows — Building Up a Fine Herd 

CHAPTER III. MILK AND BUTTER 29-33 

Milk as Food — Care of Milk — Butter-fat — Churning — • 
Cheese-making — By-products 

CHAPTER IF. SHEEP 34-43 

Origin of Sheep — Their Care — Merinos — Mutton Types — 
Sheep-shearing 

CHAPTER r. SWINE 44-48 

The Wild Boar — Development of Good Types—Their Care 
and Feed — Lard and Bacon Types — Hog Cholera 

CHAPTER VI. POULTRY 49-57 

Origin of Chickens — Value to the Farmer — Kinds and Uses 
of Fowls — Their Care and Feeding — The Young Brood — 
Poultry Pests 

CHAPTER ril. TURKEYS, BUCKS. AND GEESE 58-60 

Raising Turkeys — Ducks on the Farm — Geese 
CHAPTER VIII. INSECTS 61-67 

Insect Enemies — Insect Friends — Parts of an Insect — 

Biting Insects — Sucking Insects — Insect Growth — Larva 

Stage — Pupa Stage — Life of Insects, 

CHAPTER IX. THE BEE 68-76 

The First Sugar Makers — Taming the Bee — Making Honey 
— The Bee Family — Care of Bees for Profit — Other Services 
of Bees 

CHAPTER X. BIRDS 77-83 

Birds of Killingworth — Service to Farmers — Grosbeaks — 
Protecting Crops — Paying Their Way 

iv 



CONTENTS V 

Pakt II. Soils and Farm Crops 

PAGES 

CEAPTEB XL SOILS 84-95 

What Soil Is — Kinds of Soil — Humus — Plant-foods — ^Liquid 
Food for Plants — Importance of Water in Soil — Drainage 
— Tiling — Bacteria in Soil — Kotation of Crops — Different 
Systems of Eotation 

CE AFTER XII. PLANTS AND HOW THEY GEOW 96-102 

Parts of the Plant— The Work of Boots— The Stem- 
Leaves — Flowers — Pollination — Variety in Plant Life — 
Dissemination of Seeds 

CHAPTER XIIL TILLAGE AND FARM MACHINERY. .103-112 
Tilling in Ancient Times — Teachings of Jethro Tull — What 
Tillage Does — The Dust Mulch — Dry Farming — Irrigation 
— Better Machinery — Iron Tools 

CHAPTER XIV. CORN 113-125 

Origin of Corn — Importance to the Pioneer — Indian Farm- 
ing — The Corn Belt — Choosing Seed Corn — What Consti- 
tutes a Prize Ear — Curing the Seed — Testing Seed Corn — 
Preparation for the Crop — Getting a Good Stand — Cultiva- 
tion — Harvesting — The Silo — Other Uses of Corn 

CHAPTER XV. WHEAT 126-137 

Origin of Wheat— Introduction of Wheat Into America- 
Kinds of Wheat — The Crop — Wheat in Eotation — Enemies 
of Wheat — Harvesting Tools — Animal Power — The Eeaper 
— Self Binder — Combined Harvesters — Uses of Wheat 

CHAPTER XVI. THE FIELD OR IRISH POTATO 138-144 

Origin of the Potato — A Tuber — Kinds of Seeds — How to 
Choose Seed — Soil and Cultivation — Diseases and Enemies 
— Machinery 

CHAPTER XVII. THE SWEET POTATO 145-146 

A True Eoot — Origin — Climate and Soil — The Crop 

CHAPTER XVIII. COTTON 147-155 

Climate — Soil — Eotation — Cultivation — Harvesting — Boll 
Weevil 

CEAPTEB XIX. TEE EAY CROP 156-163 

Timothy^Clovers — Harvesting Eed Clover — Alsike Clover 
— Alfalfa — Cowpeas. 



VI 



CONTENTS 



PAGES 

CEAFTEE XX. OECHAEDS 16i-173 

Convenience to Market — Hill Country for Orchards — Best 
Slopes — Influence of Water — Soil — Preparation for Plow- 
ing — Setting Trees — Tilling — Pruning — Spraying — Harvesting 

CHAPTEE XXI. SVGAES AND OTHEE CEOPS 174-181 

Cuttings of Sugar Cane for Seed — Planting Sugar Cane — 
Harvesting — Sugar Beet — Cultivation and Harvesting — 
Kice — Tobacco — Oats, Barley, Eye, and Buckwheat 

CHAPTEE XXII. TEE FAEM GAEDEN 182-200 

The Boy's Experiment Farm — Preparation for Garden Soil 
— Garden Tools — Mulching — Window Boxes — Hot Beds — 
Cold Frames — Transplanting — Vegetables — Fruit 

CEAPTEE XXIII. COVNTEY EOADS 201-212 

Bearing Upon Farmers' Profits — Bearing Upon Sociability 
— Good Roads and Schools — Interest of City Peojjle — 
Eoman Eoads — Working Out the Road Tax — Paying Road 
Taxes in Cash — The Macadam Road — Effect of Surface on 
Loads — Effect of Grade oij Loads — Surfacing Clay and 
Sandy Roads — Loam Roads — Brick Roads 

CEAPTEE XXir. PEESEEVING FOODS 213-215 

Germs Which Help and Hinder — The Yeast Plant — Making 
Bread — Mold — Canning Fruit — Smoking Meats — Cold Stor- 
age — Preserving Fruits — Bacteria in Butter and Cider 

CEAPTEE XXV. FAEM SANITATION 216-224 

Location and Surroundings of the Farm House — ^Water 
Supply — Sewage and Disease — Mosquitoes and Malaria— 
The House Fly and Typhoid — Fighting Flies — Milk a Germ 
Carrier — Ventilating the Barn — Princij^les of Ventilation — 
Heating and Ventilating the Home — The School Room 

CEAPTEE XXVI. TEE FAEMEE 'S COLLEGE 225-228 

The Department of Agriculture — Helps from Pamphlets — 
State Experiment Stations — Colleges of Agriculture 

CEAPTEE XXVII. BOYS' AND GIELS' CLUBS 229 238 

Club Movement — Boys' Corn Clubs — Father and Son Cluhs- 
Potato Clubs — Tomato Canning Clubs — The Club and School 



Part III. Appendix 

ONE THOUSAND QUESTIONS ANSWEEED— INDEX. . .\u-c\xix 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

PART I. FARM ANIMALS 
• CHAPTER I 

THE HOESE 

Taming the Wild Horse. Who tamed and rode 
the first wild horse and how he did it, we shall never 
know; but it was an important event for mankind. 
It happened long ages ago, before men began to write 
their doings in books. We know that horses lived 
in the time of the cave men, for we find remains of 
horses and rude pictures of them scratched on stone 
in caves and sand drifts. The cave men hunted these 
wild horses for meat and for their skins. 

Variety in Size. The horse was then much smaller 
than he is now. He was about the size of a wild pony. 
The wild horses that came to live in mild climates 
where food was plentiful began to grow larger, with 
heavier limbs and stronger muscles; but those that 
passed into cold, bleak lands where food was scarce, 
grew small like the ponies of the Shetland Islands. 

The Horse's Foot. The bones and fossils of the 
ancient horse show that he was once less than 
twenty-four inches in height. He had a spreading 

1 



2 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 

foot with five toes. At that time he lived in low, 
marshy lands, and toes were needed to help him get 
about. As the earth became harder he lost one toe 
after another and so was able to travel faster to 
escape from his enemies. The horse's hoof is the 
nail of the one remaining toe. 

Riding Horseback. The Greeks first drove the 
horse hitched to rode chariots, but later, it is said, 
they learned to ride him without saddle or bridle. 
They invented the first bridle bit, which is called 
the snaffle. Neither Greeks nor Romans shod their 
horses. At first only kings, nobles, and warriors 
could afford horses. They were used chiefly in war 
and for riding and driving in war chariots. But 
everybody who was able rode horseback; even kings 
looked upon this as the most dignified way to travel. 

The First Work Animal. All this time the farmer 
had only the plow ox or the stubborn ass to help him 
raise his crops. When at last the farmer began to 
use the horse, he did his work much faster, for the 
horse has not only better speed and greater strength 
than the ox, but he can hold out longer. 

The Horse and the Indian. Horses were not found 
in America when the white men first came. The 
Indians were greatly frightened when they saw the 
horses which the Spaniards brought over. They 
thought these animals were terrible monsters. But 
the Indians soon learned to use the horse, and, after 
a time, great herds of horses appeared wild on the 
western plains. 



THE HOESE 



The Big Draft Horse. The time came wlien men 
began to breed horses for different uses. When they 
wished work horses that could draw very heavy 
loads at a slow pace, they selected the heavy, stout- 
limbed animals that had strong muscles; and by 
using these as parents they reared more like them. 
Gradually the colts of these horses grew stronger 
and larger, and so the draft horse was developed. 




Fig. 2, A coach horse. 



Coach and Roadsters. Other men wanted horses 
that could pull heavy coaches with good speed. 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 




Fig. 



PcrclieroiL stuUion. 



They wanted high knee action and tine style. So 
they kept this kind to breed from and developed the 
coach horse (Fig. 2). Still other men wanted speedy 
horses for light loads, and they reared saddle and 
race horses. 

Kinds of Draft Horses. The draft horse is blocky, 
heavy, and powerful. He may weigh from fifteen 
hundred to two thousand pounds and is in much 



TH.'. HORSE 5 

demand for pulling great loads on city streets. Pie 
has a round body and rather short legs. His hind 
legs are the stronger, yet he uses his front legs so 
much in pulling that the front quarters are heavy 
and powerful. His breast is broad and his front 
legs far apart. From France we get the Percheron 
(Figs. 3 and 4) draft horse, with a gray, chestnut, 
or black color; from Belgium comes the bay Bel- 
gian; the Shire of bay brown or chestnut color 
comes from England and the smaller but more 
active Clj^desdale (Fig. 5) from Scotland. 

How to Hitch a Horse. When a team cannot pull 
a heavy load, it is often because the feet slip. The 
heavier the horse is, the better he can hold with his 
toes. A horse can really pull more on hard or slip- 
pery roads if he has a man on his back. This gives 
him more weight and a better foothold. One way to 




Fit;. 4. Prize six-horse Ferclieron team. 



ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 




Fig. 5. A Clydesdale. 

help a horse pull heavy loads is to put the whiffle- 
tree low down. It is better to have the doubletree 
under the tongue for heavy pulling. A farmer 
once tested this by hitching a horse to a post with a 
spring balance which would show how many pounds 
he pulled. When the whiffletree was tied six inclies 
from the ground he pulled six hundred pounds more 
than when it was three feet from the ground. 

Driving Fast. When a horse has a light load and 
is driven for speed, the whiffletree should be high. 
This makes the weight on the horse lighter so there 
is less strain on his legs and feet. Sometimes you 



THE HOKSE 



see in the city a two-wheeled carriage with the 
driver sitting high behind. This is called a hansom 
cab. The driver's weight makes the thills pull up 
on the horse and so carries part of the horse's 
weight. This saves his feet greatly in driving upon 
hard pavements. 

Race Horses. The American trotter (Fig. 6) and 
the American saddle horse are the best of their kind 
in the world. Trotters have powerful hind legs and 
good lungs. They have small heads and large nos- 
trils so they can breathe abundance of air (Fig. 7). 




Fig. 6. American trotting horse (Morgan type). 




8 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUEE 

Other Uses of the Horse. Among the Tartar tribes 
of northern and central Asia, mare's milk and horse 
flesh are still used for the food of man. Old horses 
are always fattened for the meat markets of France 
and other countries of Europe. 

Most Horses in America. To-day in Great Britain 
there is one horse to every twenty people ; in France, 
one to every ten people; and in the United States, 
one to every five people. So we have more horses 
in America than there are in any other country, and 
we make them do more of our work. 

Horse Power Cheap. Human labor costs more 
than any other kind of labor, so the farmer has 
learned to use his horses for many purposes. Years 
ago, when harnesses were poor and tools crude, 
many things were done by human hands that are 
now done by horse power. To-day one good horse 
can do as much work as ten men, while his board 
and keep costs about half as much as that of one 
man. 

Doing Forty Men's Work. A farmer boy who 
drives a four-horse team hitched to a gang-plow is 
doing as much work as forty men working with 
hand tools. Four-horse plows and four-horse har- 
rows are very common on the large farms in the 
West. Some of the great harvesting machines em- 
ploy as many as tw^enty or thirty horses and mules 
on a single machine. 

Feeding the Horse. A horse's stomach is small, 
so he cannot use as much bulkv food as a cow. He 



thp: horse 9 

ought to liave at least three good meals every day- 
When a horse is making long trips on the road he 
should not have too much hay, but a richer food, 
like corn or oats. The work horse should have his 
largest meal at night, when he has plenty of time 
to eat and digest it. If a horse is not warm, it is 
better to water before feeding him. The water 
passes on through the stomach and leaves room 
for the food. If an animal is very warm, it should 




Fig. 7. Thorouglibrcd trotting mares and colts. 



not be given either food or water until it has cooled 
off. Clover hay is not so good for a horse as tim- 
othy, because it is more dusty; and dusty hay is 
liable to give horses the heaves. If dusty hay must 
be used, it should be sprinkled before feeding. 

A Good Variety. It is cruel to feed the horse on 
nothing but oats and hay all the year round, when 



10 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

he would SO much like some barley, beans, peas, 
corn, or turnips for a change. In the United States 
Army a horse is allowed ten quarts of oats a day. 
It is better to feed corn on the cob, as this makes the 
animal eat more slowly and it also improves his 
teeth. When carrots are given, they should be 
sliced to prevent the horse from choking. It is 
important to keep a little salt in his trough. 

Cleaning the Horse. When a horse comes to the 
barn with muddy legs, they should be rubbed down 
or washed, especially in cold weather, to prevent 
rheumatism. Time spent in cleaning and rubbing 
the horse in the evening after tlie day's work is 
done, is much better for the animal than the same 
time spent in the morning, because the horse will 
rest so much better. 

His Care. When a horse is warm upon stopping 
work in cold weather, he should be blanketed to 
keep him from catching cold. On very cold morn 
ings the bits should be warmed by dipping them in 
water before bridling the horse. Even cold water 
will keep a frosty bit from freezing to the tongue 
and tearing the skin. Have you ever tried touching 
your tongue to frosty iron? 

Healthy Shoulders. Many farm horses suffer 
from sore shoulders. This need not be so. The 
collar should fit and be kept clean. If there is 
danger of sore shoulders, they should be washed in 
salt water at noon aid in the evening. Salt water 
is healing, and it makes the shoulders tough. When 



THE HOESE H 

the team is working hard, the harness ought to be 
removed at the noon hour. The horse should be well 
cleaned every day with a good brush. The curry- 
comb is harsh and painful, especially when used by 
rough hands. 

A Pleasant Home. The horse's home or stable 
should be kept clean. It needs to be light, but the 
windows must not be where the horse will look into 
them, for this will injure his eyes, as it does yours 
when you sit facing a window. The horse barn 
should also have good air. If the barn is made very 
warm, a window should always be open where the 
draft will not strike the animals. 

Shoeing the Horse. Many horseshoers do not un 
derstand their trade, and so tliey injure the feet of 
the horse. Sometimes they put on shoes that are too 
big, and this stretches the hoof too much. A very, 
small shoe pinches and makes corns. Some pare 
the sole too much, and others even use the knife on 
the frog, which is a great injury to the foot. As the 
hoof is growing all the time, just as a man's finger- 
nails grow, the shoes need to be changed often, so 
they will not pinch the foot. 

One Lesson at a Time. In breaking colts it is 
better not to try to teach them too much at one time. 
One of the first lessons is to "halter-break" the 
young colt. This should be done while he is still 
a suckling. A strong, well-fitting halter is placed 
on him, and he is tied short to a post near to his 
mother. A colt should always be tied firmly, for if 



12 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 




1. Clove hitch. 

2. I'lcket rope with a half-;;ranny and a half-hitch. 

3. Bowline : a noose that never slips ; is easily untied. 






4. A slip knot, rnnninft noose, or halter knot. 

5. Beeket hitch for joining a cord and a rope. 

6. Keef knot or square knot : never slips : easily untied. 

7. False reef or granny ; difficult to untie ; a bad knot. 

Fu;. 8. Knots tJiat every 



THE HOESE 







8. Anchor bend. 

9. Fixed loop in middle of a cord. 

10. Weavers' knot or sheet bend, for 

11. Two half-hitches. 



joining small cords. 






12 Blackwall hitch. 

n C'arrick bend for joining large ropes. 

14] Timber hitch: cannot slip or jamb; easily untied. 

farmer should know. 



14 ELEMENTAKY AGEICULTUKE 

he once breaks loose lie has learned a very bad trick 
(Fig. 8). 

His First Bridle. After the colt is halter-broken 
so he can be tied or led, it is a good plan to tie his 
halter to his mother's liame or collar. In this way 
he gets nsed to trotting beside another horse. The 
next lesson is to put on a bridle with a smooth bit. 
An open bridle is better than a "blind" one, for the 
horse ought to see everything about him so he will 
the more quickly get used to the new experience. 

Driving the Colt. A saddle may now be put on, 
or a single harness with crupper and back strap. 
It is a good plan to drive the horse at first without 
a cart. The driver passes the lines through the tug 
or the loop made for the shafts, and in this way 
keeps the animal from whirling suddenly and get- 
ting tangled up in the lines. It is well to have a 
helper lead the colt at first, until he understands 
what is expected of him. 

Driving Double. The colt may now be hitched to 
a cart with long shafts and a kick strap, or he may 
be hitched up with another horse. When this is 
done it is a good plan to keep a pair of single lines 
on the colt's bridle and have these in the hands of a 
helper. In hitching up double, it is well to use a 
heavy wagon with a brake and to put the colt on the 
"off" side. He can now be taught to stop, to back, 
and to start at the proper signal. 

Not Too Many Signals. A horse should be trained 
early to stand still while he is being harnessed and 



THE HOESE 15 

hitched up. Very few words or signals should be 
used, for a horse has far less brains than a dog. 
"Whoa" should always mean to stop. "Steady" 
is the word when we wish the team to go more 
slowly. "Back" should be used only when we wish 
the team to move backwards. 

Kindness Pays. "The merciful man is merciful to 
his beast," and the well-treated horse repays his 
master's patience and good care. Horses, like all 
farm animals, should be kindly and gently handled. 
Jerking and whipping do harm to the horse, and 
this means a money loss to the farmer. 



CHAPTER II 
CATTLE 

More Useful Than Horses. Horses are a great 
help to man, but we could get along without them 
better than without cattle. Cattle supply us with 
meat, leather, and milk; and they may also be yoked 
up for work. 

Where Cattle Came From. Cattle have come 
down to us from a queer animal of the cave man's 
time, called the urus. In those far-off days there 
was also a kind of wild cattle. Some say the herds 
of wild cattle mixed with herds of the urus, and 
this mixture formed the cattle that we have. But 
nobody is very sure about this. We know that the 
cave man hunted and killed wild cattle for meat. 

Taming the Wild Cattle. A long time after the 
cave man a higher race of men lived in villages built 
out over the edge of lakes in Switzerland. These 
people, called the Swiss lake-dwellers, seem to have 
tapied the cow. How do you think they did it? 
They probably kept cows at first for milk only. 
Instead of hunting all the time for food, the people 
began to give some time to their cattle and so 
became herders. 

Churning the First Butter. Then a wonderful dis- 
covery was made by some one, and that was how to 
make butter from milk. Probably some lake-dweller 

16 



CATTLE 



17 



was carrying upon a journey a s^kin or leather bag 
of milk, and the motion churned the butter. Milk 
will not keep long without souring, but butter keeps 
much longer. The cow, with her milk, butter, hide. 



rv^ 






V 










^--».*-a 




^■^■^.il 


jA 




m ^^m 


^^ 






f. ^ v!" .^ M 


fk 




' . 'M 



Fig. 9. ^ &ee/ breed (Shorthorns). 

and meat, must have done a great deal to help these 
ancient people to better ways of living. 

Hitching Cattle to Loads. We do not know when 
cattle were first yoked up and hitched to loads. 
Perhaps a cow was tied by a leather thong, when 
suddenly she made off through the woods, dragging 
a man or the log to which she was tied. Then some 



18 ELEMENTAEY AGKICULTUEE 

one hit upon the idea of tying a cow to anything he 
wished to have moved. 

The First Plow. After the yoke was invented, 
some clever person made a rude plow of sharp sticks 
tied with thongs, and agriculture took a long step 
forward, because this enabled the farmer to use 
animal power to till the soil, instead of doing it all 
by hand. 

Two Kinds of Cattle. Cattle were early brought 
to America from Europe, Men began to want two 
kinds of cattle, one for milk and butter and the 
other for beef. They found that a good milch cow 
is not very good for beef, for her food all goes to 
milk; while a fat cow will not give much milk, as 
her food makes flesh or muscle. By carefully select- 
ing the good milkers for mothers, farmers have 
developed a fine dairy animal, such as the Jersey, 
the Guernsey, or the PIol stein. 

Beef Cattle. Other cattle raisers have bred from 
the large, heavy animals and have herds of fine beef 
cattle, such as the Shorthorns (Figs. 9 and 17), Here- 
fords, or Galloways (Fig. 10). The beef cow is 
square, with all bones well covered w^itli flesh. Her 
back is straight and her legs full and thick. The 
neck is full and stocky, the legs short and set far 
apart to support the large, heavy body. The more 
meat these animals can make from a given amount 
of food, the more profitable they are. 

Their Care and Feed. Beef cattle need different 
food and care from the dairy animals. The beef 



CATTLE 



19 



type do not require such warm barns as the milkers 
do, because fat animals never need such warm hous- 
ing as do lean ones. They seem to do better in dry, 
open sheds that are well bedded. They need such 
foods as will make them fat most quickly and at the 
least expense, and cattle feeders know this well. 




Fig. 10. A Galloway cow. 



Getting Ready for Market. Sometimes calves are 
fed fattening foods as soon as they can digest them. 
They are kept on such food until they are ready for 
the market at from ten to sixteen months of age. 
Other cattlemen give their young herd the freedom 
of the range or pasture for a few months, or, per- 
haps, for a year or two, and then put them on rich, 



20 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 







^ 



FKjl. 11. Ajt iDipty dinner pail. 



fattening foods for a few months before they are 
sold to the butcher or the packer. 

Feeding Meal. When teaching a young calf to 
eat meal, the farmer puts him in a box stall with 
another, older calf, and the young one will learn 
from his companion. Another way is to take a little 
meal in the hand and put the hand in the mouth of 
the young calf. (Fig. 11.) 

A Mixed Food. A good meal ration for calves is 
a bushel of ground corn, a bushel of ground oats, a 
peck and a half of wheat bran, and the same of oil 
meal, all well mixed. As soon as calves will take 
hay or fodder, it should be given to them. They 
will begin to nibble and taste it when two or three 
weeks old. The best hay is clover, alfalfa, or cow 
peas. As soon as they begin to chew the cud, finely 
cut hay is mixed with the meal. In this way one can 
prepare the calf for weaning. (Fig. 12.) 



CATTLE 



21 



Saving Cream. When calves are fed on skimmed 
milk they miss the butter-fat that has been taken 
away as cream. In its place the farmer feeds the 
calf some corn meal or linseed meal. One or two 
cents' worth of meal will serve the calf as well as 
twenty-five cents' worth of cream. 

Choosing a Good Dairy Cow. The dairy cow is 
shaped like a wedge. The neck, thighs, and shoul- 
ders are thin and lean. She should be thin, not 
because she is poorly fed, but because she is turning 
a large part of the feed she eats into milk. She 
should be quiet and gentle. She should be strong 
and have room for a large quantity of food. Her 
hips are prominent and wide apart, and the rump 
is high. The hind legs are trim and set well apart. 




Fig. 12. lyiiLic (lie our mollitia: 



22 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



Most important of all, she has a large, well-shaped 
udder. The floor of the udder is straight and 
extends well forward and well backward, too. The 











P^PI 




\7p 



Fig. 13. r/(e dairy type (Jerseys). 

udder is soft and fine. The teats are evenly placed 
and of medium size. The buyer should milk out a 
few streams to see that the openings are not so 
small as to make her a hard milker. The milk veins 
which extend forward from the udder should be 
large, with many branches, because they supply the 
blood from which the udder secretes the milk. 

The Jersey Type. The Jersey cow (Fig. 13) is 
famous the world over for her rich milk. These 
cows were the first dairy animals to become popular 
in our country. They change a large part of their 
food into milk instead of into flesh or fat. Jersey 
milk is the richest of all. The Jersey heifer matures 



CATTLE 



23 



early and may become a mother at between two and 
three years. So the dairyman does not have to 
feed her long* mitil she more than pays her way. 
This breed came, in the first place, from Jersey 
Island, in the English Channel. The island is only 
eleven miles long by five and a half wide, but it is 
very rich and productive; and the farms there are 
very small, sometimes not more than two or three 
acres. The principal industry is dairying, and the 
stock has been kept pure by forbidding foreign 
animals to be brouglit in. The milk is nearly all 
made into butter. 

The Guernseys. The Guernsey cows, like the Jer- 
seys, come from one of the islands by that name in 
the English Channel. They are somewhat larger 




Fig. 14. A record coic (HolsteiaJ. 



24 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

than the Jerseys. They have coarser bones and 
carry more flesh. Guernseys are noted for their 
yellow milk, which is only second to that of the 
Jersey in richness. But they often give a greater 
amount than the Jersey. 

The Holstein. This dairy animal was bred 2,000 
years ago along the Eliine, in Europe. The Dutch 
first brought these cows to America, shortly after 
the settlement of New Amsterdam. The Holstein 
(Figs. 14 and 107) is noted for the great amount of 
milk given. The milk is not so rich in butter-fat 
as that of the Jersey or Guernsey, but the large 
amount makes her a most desirable cow to keep 
near large cities like New York, where the milk is 
sold by measure. Other noted dairy types are the 
Ayrshire, the Brown Swiss (Fig. 15), and the Dutch 
Belted. 

The Babcock Milk Test. For a long time dairy- 
men did not know how to choose the cows which 
gave the richest milk. Not many years ago Dr. 
S. M. Babcock, of Wisconsin, invented a machine 
to test milk for the amount of butter-fat. Now 
every farmer may know which cows are valuable for 
their rich milk and which ones are not worth their 
keep. 

What a Good Cow Produces. A good cow should 
produce from twelve to fifteen pounds of butter a 
week. One of the highest records ever made was 
by a Holstein cow that made thirty-three pounds 
of butter in one week (Fig. 14). 



CATTLE 



25 



Caring for the Dairy Cow. Twice each day the 
dairy cow is driven to the barn to be milked, and 
the more milk she gives to each pound of food, the 
more valuable she is (Fig. 16). In order to give 
an abundance of milk, she must have the best of 
care and food, and kind treatment; and she must be 
milked at regular hours. She should have water 
and plenty of good food at every meal time. 

Their Food. In summer, when the cows are in 




Fig. 15. Brown Siciss tivin calves, tzill and heifer. 



26 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

pasture, they need very little other food .unless the 
pasture becomes short and dry. Then corn, alfalfa, 
peas, oats, rye, or some other crops may be cut green 
and fed to them. Water and shade should be within 
reach of cows at all times in hot weather (Fig. 1). 
In winter they like hay, root crops, and silage. 

A Balanced Feed. It is best to feed some dry hay 
or fodder, some silage or green food, and some 
grain. The careful dairyman always feeds just the 
right amount of each to supply what the cows need 
without any waste. He calls this a "balanced 
ration." 

Testing Cows. Some pure-bred cows are poor 
milkers. The only way to make sure tliat a cow is 
worth her board is to test her milk for butter-fat 
and weigh the milk. Every dairyman should keep 
a record of each cow for one year. A spring balance 
with a paper beside it will enable the farmer to 
weigh the milk and put down the amount quickly. 

An Easier Way. Or, instead of weighing the milk 
everv dav, the farmer may weigh the milk of each 





n 


iff 




^L -' i 




mn 


pi^ 




^^ 



Fig. 16. A row of muiuy mukcrt;. 



CATTLE 



27 



cow for three days each month. The sum of these 
weights multiplied by ten will give the year's pro- 
duction. Take samples for the Bahcock test in the 
second, fourth, and seventh months after the cow 
freshens. If you add these and divide by three you 
get the average daily production of butter-fat. 
Cow-testing Associations. Dairymen who find it 




Slwrlliont hull. 



dlfricult to teot their own cows are in some instances 
banding together in cow-testing associations. To 
this association each farmer contributes a small fee 
and with this money an expert is employed who 
spends his time going about among the dairies and 
testing the cows of each herd. This plan has been 
used in Bolland for many years, and is the reason 
foi' the o-reat advance in the dairv business in that 



28 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 

country. Farmers who desire to form such an asso- 
ciation should write to the Department of Agricul- 
ture, who will send a man to assist in forming the 
organization. 

Uses Made of Beef Cattle. It is said that every 
grown person in the United States eats, on an aver- 
age, one hundred and fifty pounds of meat in a year. 
The greater part of this is furnished by the great 
herds pastured on the Western plains. Leather for 
many purposes is made from the hides, and butter- 
ine is a product of the fat or tallow of beef. Buttons 
are made from the bones; combs, from the bones and 
hoofs; and glue, from the sinews, bones, and hide 
trimmings. 

How to Get Good Stock. The cheapest way for a 
farmer to build up a fine herd of either dairy or 
beef cattle is to save only the calves whose father 
or sire is a pure-bred animal. (Fig. 17.) There is 
a true saying among stock farmers that "The sire 
is half the herd." The way to improve a scrub 
herd is to obtain a pure-bred sire. The first calves 
are half pure. When these calves become cows and 
mothers, their calves are three-fourths pure stock, 
and so on. Scrub cattle have no place in the fields 
of a good farmer. 



CHAPTER III 
MILK AND BUTTER 

Milk as Food. Milk is a good food for every one. 
The Laplander milks liis reindeer, and the Arab his 
camel. The people of India milk their buffaloes, and 
the mountain people their sheep. A quart of cow's 
milk contains about the same amount of food as 
three-quarters of a pound of beef. Thus we see 
that milk is cheaper than meat or eggs. As the 
cities grow there is a greater demand for milk, but 
the buyers insist that it be clean. 

Keeping Milk Pure and Clean. Milk absorbs or 
takes up odors. If a cow is fed cabbage, onions, or 
turnips a few hours before she is milked, you will 
notice the flavor of those vegetables in the milk. 
Milk that stands uncovered in dirty barns has the 
odor of the stables. Therefore, the barn must be 
clean and light, with plenty of windows to admit 
the air, and the cows should be fed proper food. 
They should always have pure water, because milk 
carries many germs, especially those of typhoid 
fever. Feeding should be done after milking, so 
the air will not be full of dust to settle in the milk. 

Milking the Cows. The udders of the cows must 
be washed, and the milker's clothing and hands 
should be clean before a drop is drawn. All pails 
and vats for holding milk should be thoroughly 

29 



30 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUEE 

waslied with waim siids and then rinsed witli scald- 
ing water. As soon as milk is drawn, it is well to 
cool it to stop the growth of the germs that cause 
it to sour. 

Butter-fat. If we look at a drop of milk through 
a microscope we shall see many tiny, roundish bod- 
ies with a pearly look floating in the fluid. Fifteen 
thousand to twenty-five thousand of these little bod- 
ies placed side by side will measure an inch, and 
there are millions of them in a drop of milk. These 
particles are the fat of the milk, from which butter 
is made. They are lighter than milk, and when 
milk stands for a time they float upward. With 
some of the milk on top of the pan they form the 
cream. 

Ready to Churn. After the cream is removed by a 
skimmer or the new hand-separator, it should stand 
until it ripens, or sours. It is most easily churned 
at a temperature of from fifty- six to sixty degrees 
Fahrenheit. The room should be, as nearly as pos- 
sible, the same temperature as the cream. 

Churning. When this cream is put into a churn 
and dashed about, the little particles of fat hit to- 
gether and stick to one another until they unite to 
form small pieces of butter about the size of a grain 
of wheat. Then we can see the butter-fat in the 
buttermilk. 

Preparing Butter for Market. When the butter is 
gathered from the churn, it may be washed to remove 
part of the buttermilk. Then the whole butter mass 



MILK AND BUTTER 



31 



i^jhhH^ * .uBK ^lJSH^^Sp^H'HIb 


1 



is pressed togetlier and rolled with a wooden paddle 
to remove the rest. Three-fonrths of an onnee 
of fine 
table salt 
should 
be added 
to each 
pound of 
1) n 1 1 e r 
and even- 
ly worked 
into the 

u -^ X J. Fig. 18. The old ivay of separating cream. 

mass with the paddle. The worker firmly rolls and 
Dresses the hnltci', 1)nt does not rub it, because that 

destroys the grain. When 
the butter is free from but- 
termilk, it can be made into 
a tempting lump and stamp- 
ed and rolled in oiled paper. 
Butter is judged for its 
flavor, color, grain, and the 
amount of salt, but in a 
great measure it is judged by 
its general appearance. 

The Churn. Farmers, to- 
day, prefer the barrel churn, 
without a dasher. In opera- 

FiG. 19. Tlie new icaii — . ^ • ^ ii 

cream separaior. VlOll thlS cliurn tlirOWS the 

cream back and forth against its sides. Churns 




32 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

should never be filled more than half full. Butter- 
making is greatly aided in late years by the use of 
the separator and butterworker (Figs. 18 and 19). 

Cheese-making. Cheese may be made from cream, 
skimmed milk, or the whole milk. Most of the 
cheese we buy at the store is made from the whole 
milk. Years ago our grandmothers made cheese as 
commonly as they did butter, but cheese-making is 
such a long process that to-day it is done in cream- 
eries or factories. Cheese is the solid part of the 
milk in such form as will keep for long periods. A 
little difference in the process of the making, pro- 
duces a different sort of cheese. One book tells us of 
one hundred and fifty-six different kinds. They are 
usually found in three classes — hard or soft cheese, 
cream cheese, and sage cheese. 

Cottage Cheese. Cottage cheese is a home prod- 
act made by heating sour milk, which has thickened, 
to the point where the curd separates from the whey. 
The whey is drained off through a cheesecloth, and 
the dry curds are seasoned with cream and salt. 
A great deal of this is sold on the market for table 
use. 

By-products. The by-products of the dair}^ are 
skimmed milk, buttermilk, and whey. These are 
chiefly used in feeding young animals on the farm, 
because it costs less to ship fat stock than it does 
feed or milk. The curd of the milk is dried in large 
factories and ground fine and used in the sizing of 
paper. Milk sugar is made largely from whey. This 



MILK AND BUTTER 33 

is mnch used for babies and invalids. Otber foods 
and drink wliicli are becoming popular are made 
from the dairy. Up to 1850 the dairy work was all 
done and marketed from the farm. Now the milk is 
largely taken to creameries and factories, and butter, 
cheese, and condensed milk are manufactured there. 



CHAPTER IV 
SHEEP 

Wild Sheep of Asia. On the plains of Asia there 
may be seen to-day small flocks of wild sheep. They 
are larger than our common sheep, with such im- 
mense horns that it would require a foot line to reach 
around one at its root and a four-foot line to measure 
their length. The wool of the wild sheep is brown, 
with a buff-colored streak along the back. These 
wild sheep are strong, quick, and suspicious, so they 
are very hard to catch. They are hunted for their 
flesh and their skins, which are made into clothing. 
Tliey have a coat of fine soft wool to keep them 
warm, and over this is a long coarse hair, which 
serves as a raincoat. 

Another Kind of Wild Sheep. In the mountains 
of Greece is another type of wild sheep, smaller and 
less active than those of Asia. It is believed that 
our domestic sheep have come from one or the other, 
or ])erhaps both, of these wild types. 

Taming the Sheep. Some writers think the sheep 
was tamed l)efore the horse or cow, because they 
were small and could not defend themselves so well. 
Sheepskins made fine clothing for the cave man. 
The first animal we find mentioned in the Bible is 
the sheep, but the Bilile mentions other domestic 
animals. 

34 



SHEEP 35 

Where Sheep Live. TIig sheep can live on rough 
liillsides and mountain cliffs where other domestic 
animals would starve. They thrive best in cool cli- 
mates, because of their heavy coats of wool. They 
re(juire less grain and will eat more kinds of food 
than the horse or cow. So they are more easily 
cared for (Fig. 20). 

The Use of Sheep. A flock of sheep increases very 
rai)idly, for ewes, or mother sheep, often bear twin 




Fic. l!0. .1 <i()o(l animal cats no more but pai/s better. 

lambs every year. The lambs become full-grown in 
a few months, and their flesh makes excellent food, 
while the fleeces make woolen clothes for the people 
of many lands. When prices of wool are fair, a 
good ewe will pay her board and keep through the 
3'ear with her fleece. The flesh of the sheep is worth 
about half as much as the wool. If she raises two 
lambs they are clear gain to the farmer. Sheep 
have no equal as weed-destroyers, for they eat 
nearly every weed that grows on the farm. In small 
numbers they build up and enrich the land, for 
sheep manure is worth moi'e as a fertilizer than 



36 



ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUKE 




Fici. L'l. A Merino ram. 



that of any other farm animal except poultry. A 
few sheep will pay their way and make money for 

their owner on any 
farm that is not wet 
and marshy. They 
will not thrive on 
low, moist land. 
Aside from their 
fleece and mutton, the 
bones are used for 
fertilizer. The skins 
make leather for 
boots and shoes. The 
tallow is made into 
candles, and the skins of the intestines are made into 
strings for musical instruments. 

Two Kinds of Sheep. We raise two types of 
sheep, because those that produce the best wool do 
not make the best mutton. If a farmer is raising 
sheep for mutton mainly, he keeps a herd of Slirop- 
shires or Southdowns or some other mutton type. 
If he is chiefly interested in growing fine wool, he 
keeps American Merinos or some breed like them. 

Merinos for Wool. The oldest races of the domes- 
ticated sheep are probably the Merinos (Fig. 21). 
They were very likely kept in Palestine in Bible 
times, and it may be that King David when a lad 
kept watch over a flock of Merinos. They came to 
America from Spain and have been greatly im- 
proved by American farmers. They are the best 



SHEEP 



37 



wool-producers, yielding' heavy fleeces of very fine 
wool that is used to make the finest and most 
expensive woolen goods. 

Thrive in Large Flocks. Though the Merinos are 
not so hardy as the w^ild sheep, they are hardier 
than any other of the domestic breeds. They will 
thrive in larger flocks than any other kinds, so they 
are used in the range country of the West. They 
have a long life and grow good fleeces to a ripe old 
age, while the fleece of the mutton type begins to 
lose in weight at an early age. Sheep on ranches 
of our Western states are kept a thousand or two 
thousand in a flock and sent off in the summer with 
a herder and a shepherd dog. If the herder has a 
horse, he sometimes cares for five thousand in a 
flock. One rancher often owns from twenty-five 
thousand to fifty thousand sheep. The cattle men 
object to large flocks of sheep, for they eat the grass 
so close that other ani- 
mals cannot be grazed 
there. Cattle also dis- 
like the odor left by 
sheep. 

The Shepherd Dog. 
The shepherd dog, or 
collie, tends the flock 
and rounds them up 
when they stray. Ho 
watches them at night and keeps off the mountain 
lions. These dogs are very intelligent. They obey 




Fig. 22. A Shropshire ram. 



38 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

the voices and spoken commands of their masters, 
and even understand signals of the arms. 

Care and Fleeces of Sheep. The Merinos stand 
more neglect than other sheep. They can get 
through the winter on good straw, a little grain, 
and some hill pasture. However, their mutton is 
only fair, and they do not raise as many lambs as 
other breeds. Their bodies are covered with large 
folds or wrinkles of skin that make shearing diffi- 
cult, but these very wrinkles only make so much 
more surface for good wool to grow on. 

Sheep for Mutton. Shropshires and Southdowns 
are the best liked of the mutton types in America. 
The Shropshires (Fig. 22) have nearly black faces 
and legs, and no horns. They rear more lambs than 
other kinds, but their wool is not so fine as that of 
the Merinos. Mutton sliee}) are profitable even on 
higli-jDriced land, if it is near a good market. Fancy 
lamb mutton is a delicacy that people like and are 
willing to pay for. Southdown ewes (Fig. 23) usu- 
ally rear two lambs each year, and they are good 
mothers. 

Some Dogs Kill Sheep. Two difficulties have 
stood in the way of sheep-raising on a small scale. 
These are expensive fencing and dogs. Sheep must 
have better fences than cattle. Wire fences keep 
stray dogs from chasing the flock at night and kill- 
ing many sheep, but until lately wire fences have 
cost so much that very few farmers could afford to 
use them. 



SHEEP 



39 



Food for Sheep. Sheep are naturally grass-eat- 
ing animals, for nature seldom fed them any grain. 
So they are prepared for bulky food. In England 
they seldom taste grain. They are fed on pastures, 
hay, and roots — mainly turnips. In changing the 




Fig. 23. A prize iSoufliduwii ewe. 

food of sheep, we should do so very gradually. Usu- 
ally lambs are simply put on pasture during the 
summer months and sold before it is necessary to 
house them for the winter. Some Western sheep 
growers put their lambs on the range to run free 
from eight to twenty months. Then they are shipped 
to Eastern farms to be fattened for market. Here 
they are fed corn, clover, or mixed hay and, per- 
haps, oats, peas, or barley. The best pastures for 



40 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

sheep in the corn belt are ckiver and alfalfa. They 
need shade in their fields to protect them from the 
hot sun until shearing time. (Fig. 24.) 

Fattening Lambs. Sometimes when lambs are 
fattened for the market, they are ''forced." This 
means that they are fed rich food from their birth 
until they are ready for market at from six to ten 
weeks. These are called "hothouse" lambs, and 
they furnish the finest quality of mutton to be had. 
They need good housing and extra care. 

Weaning Lambs. A pound of flesh can be put on 
a baby lamb at much less cost than when he is older. 
Nothing is better for them than mother's milk. 
Some are allowed to run with their mothers until 
they weigh seventy or eighty pounds, when they are 
to be sold as mutton. Lambs that are to be kept on 
the farm should be weaned w^hen ten or twelve weeks 
old. (Fig. 25.) 

Shepherds. No lad who is rough or brutal with 
animals should be put over a flock of fine sheep. If 
he loses his temper and abuses his flock, they will 
not do well, for they are peace-loving animals. The 
good shepherd is always kind and gentle. He keeps 
his feed troughs clean, he feeds by the clock, and 
he feeds plenty of a good, balanced ration. He keeps 
salt and pure water where the sheep can get them, 
for it is a mistaken idea that sheep do not need 
water. The shepherd that allows maggots or ticks 
or lice to trouble his flock in hot weather is not 
wortliv of the name. 



SHEEP 



41 




l'i(,. Hi. ^lll farm stoclc need shade. 

Shearing Sheep. It takes several seasons for a 
man to become a good slieepshearer. A good sliearer 
will take the wool from sixty to eighty sheep a 
day with common hand sheepshears. Shearing ma- 
chines, which are sheepshears attached to a long 
rod and managed by power, are now very common. 
The sheep is turned into a narrow alley and in a 
few minutes he comes out without his coat. It is 
far easier to shear with the machine than bv hand. 



42 



ELEMENTAKY AGETCULTURE 




Though a practiced hand can shear ahnost as fast 
as a machine, beginners can shear twice as fast with 
the machine. The machine takes off the fleece 



SHEEP 43 

smoothly and evenly without any ugly cuts. It 
saves from two to eight ounces of wool. The sheep 
should not be sheared too closely with the machine; 
enough wool should be left to protect the animal 
from flies and sunburn. Most shearing is done in 
June, but some sheep-raisers advise shearing twice 
a year — in April and in August. It is better for 
the sheep to be relieved of the burden of the wool 
in August, though the fleece is shorter and not so 
valuable. After shearing, the sheep are sometimes 
made to swim through a cleansing bath, which 
keeps their skins in good order. 

Land Suitable for Sheep Farms. There are many 
farms in the Eastern states of our country that are 
well suited to sheep-raising. Some of these farms 
are too poor for crops, but they would make good 
sheep farms if several of them were put together, 
for sheep need a large range of pasture. In New 
England high and rocky land suitable for sheep- 
raising can be bought for a very low price. 



CHAPTER V 

SWINE 

The Wild Boar, Long ages ago there roamed 
through the forests of Europe herds of fierce, wild 
boar. They usually ate fruit, roots, and grass; but 
when they were hungry they ate snakes or fowls 
or fish. Perhaps they sometimes devoured men 
whom they found weak or disabled. They were 
dangerous beasts. To hunt them with nothing but 
clubs and bows and arrows required great courage. 

Taming the Wild Beast, But somehow the brave 
men who then dwelt in the forests, after killing wild 
boars for meat for many years, set out to tame this 
ugly beast. And they did it, too, but they never 
left us a word to tell us how it was done. 

Improving the Hog. By carefully choosing and 
keeping the best hogs, the farmers have made the 
fine breeds of to-day quite different from the fierce 
wild boar. The wild hog did not take on fat, but 
our domestic breeds will fatten in a remarkably 
short time. They sometimes become too heavy for 
their legs to support them. The legs have become 
shorter than those of the wild boar, the snout and 
neck are also shorter, while the shoulders and hams 
have come to take on flesh marvelously. 

Protecting Hogs. The hog has very little cover- 
ing for his body, for the few bristles and hairs do 

44 



SWINE 45 

not protect him from the swarms of flies. The hog 
never perspires, so in order to keep cool, this animal 
should be kept in shaded pens or where there is 
water in which to wallow. Those that are kept in 
woods or groves do not need the wallow so badly 
save to protect them from flies. 

Giving Hogs a Square Deal. Swine have always 
been looked npon as filthy animals. In ancient 
times Moses was taught to have his people abstain 
from eating pork, because it was said to be unclean. 
This is rather unfair to the hog, for when he is 
provided with large yards, he keeps his bedroom 
clean. "It is only when the small pen is made to 
serve as dining room, bedroom, and wallow, all in 
one, that the hog is filthy. That is not his fault." 
It is the way in which the farmer forces him to live. 

Their Useful Snouts. Hogs have to dig for some 
of their food, and so they have tough noses with a 
sort of disk or shovel on the snout for that pur- 
pose. Since they use their noses to dig for roots 
that they like, we use the name "rooting." It is 
said they have a keen sense of smell and can be led 
by it straight to their food. The pig can follow a 
trail almost as well as a dog. 

Best Breeds Developed Here. Hogs, like most 
other domestic animals, were brought to America 
from Europe. Most of the best breeds of hogs have 
l)een developed here. The Poland-China (Fig. 26) 
was developed in Ohio; the Chester- White, in Penn- 
sylvania; the Duroc- Jersey, in New York and New 



46 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

Jersey; and the Cbesliire (Fig'. 27), in New York. 
Two Kinds of Hogs. Some hogs are raised for 
lard and others for bacon. Corn is good food for 
hogs that are grown for lard, and so the lard type 
is the most common and the most profitable in our 




lirize Tnlind CIiiiKt. 

country. In England, the bacon type is raised. 
Some hogs are useful for both purposes. 

The Kind to Raise. The hog yields meat at a 
lower cost than any other animal when he is well 
cared for and properly fed. One should not raise 
scrub hogs, which are sometimes called "razor 
backs." It takes two years to get a scrub to weigh 
as much as a well-bred pig will weigh when nine 
months old. If a farmer has only scrub stock, he 
can improve his herd in a very few years by the 
use of a pure-bred sire. 

What They Eat. When hogs are free to roam the 
woods they eat roots and such nuts as acorns and 



SWINE 



47 




FKi. 21 



A Clicsliirc [lifi. 



beechnuts. They will eat almost anything, whether 
it is meat or plant (Fig. 28). It is said they once did 
great service by de- 
vouring rattlesnakes 
on the frontier. 

Hogs in the East. 
There are two ways 
of raising swine com- 
mon 'in our country. 
In the East each 
farmer keeps a few hogs in small pens or yards and 
feeds them the waste from the kitchen and farm. 
Such hogs are usually kept for home use. 

The Western Hog Farm. In the Corn Belt of the 
Central West there are great hog farms. Hogs are 
often raised on farms where cattle are fattened for 
the market. Here both hogs and cattle are fed on 
corn. The hogs run with the cattle and grow fat on 
the corn which the cattle waste. Where hogs are 
put on pasture they grow rapidly on clover, alfalfa, 
or rape i^asture. (Fig. 29.) 




Fig. 28. Good feeders. 



48 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 



A Dreaded Disease. There is one disease which 
the hog raiser dreads, because it often destroys an 
entire herd in a few weeks. This disease is the 
hog-cholera. When the animals live all together, 
the disease spreads very rapidly. In some places 
farmers are putting their swine in small pens, or 
houses called "colony houses," scattered about the 
fields. In each colony there are from six to eight 
hogs. If cholera appears in one of these separate 
houses, it can be burned so as to prevent the disease 
from spreading. 

A Pig Sends a Boy to College. "A boy, whose 
parents were too poor to send him to college, once 
decided to make his own money and get an educa- 
tion. He bought a fine sow and began to raise 
pigs. His hogs increased so rapidly that he had 
to work hard to keep them in food. By saving 
the money he received from the sale of his hogs, 
he had enough to keep him two years in college." 




Pig. 29. Berkshires on clover. 



CHAPTER VI 
POULTRY 

The Original Home of Poultry. Our chickens 
have probably ,come from the wild jungle fowl of 
India. Early man used to snare and kill these large 
wild "birds for food and rob their nests, because he 
liked the eggs to eat. When men settled down and 
gave up their wandering life, they tamed and fed 
the jungle fowl. In time their wings grew smaller, 
because they used them so much less, and their 
bodies grew heavier. So to-day we have the con- 
tented hens that stay quietly in their pens and 
cackle to let us know when they have an egg ready. 

Value of Fowls to the Farmer. Since the farmer 
has learned in the last few years to take better care 
of his poultry, it is now thought that they pay better 
for what they eat than any other stock on the farm. 
There is a great demand for "broilers" from ten to 
twelve weeks old, and they bring fancy prices. The 
number of eggs used in the United States daily is 
beyond our imagination. It is estimated at about 
forty-four millions. Besides supplying eggs and 
meat for the farmer's use, the chickens, if they are 
allowed to roam, catch many grasshoppers and in- 
sects. During the summer months they get most 
of their food on the range. They like grass, seeds, 
bugs, lime, and grit. 

49 



50 



ELEMEATAKY AGKICULTURE 



Four Classes. Cliickeus have beeu divided into 
four classes. The large, fat, meat-producing kind 
does not lay well. They are the Cochins and 
Brahmas (Fig. 30). The Leghorns and Minorcas 
are especially valuable for producing eggs. They 
are a small, wiry sort with large combs. They lay 
large, white eggs and seldom want to hatch them, 
so they can be kept laying for long periods. Their 
flesh is not so excellent for the table as other breeds, 
but they are very popular among poultry keepers 
near large cities where fancy prices are paid for 
eggs. The fancy or game chickens are beautifully 
feathered birds and are kept for show. To this class 
belongs the bantam that is too small for real use. 

The General-purpose Fowls. But the best chick- 
ens for farmers to keep are the general-purpose 




Fig. 30. Light Brahmas. 



POULTEY 



51 



fowls that have uice, tender meat. They both hiy 

■well and make good mothers. To this class belong 

the different kinds of 

Plymouth Rocks (Fig. 

31), Wyandottes (Fig. 

32), and Rhode Island 

Reds. These breeds 

wei'e all developed i:i 

America. 

Habits. Chickens 
swallow their food 
whole. It is softened 
in the crop and ground 
into particles in the 
stomach, or gizzard, 
which contains gravel 
or grit. Fowls tip 
their heads back to swallow when they take a beak 
full of water, because they have no muscle in their 
throats. Chickens wallow or take a dust bath to 
drive awa}^ insects or clean their skins; and in wet 
weather they oil their feathers so they will shed 
water well and so keep their skin dry. 

The Nests. A hen will hide her eggs, if possible, 
so a cozy place should be arranged in a quiet, dark 
place for her nest. She begins to lay in the spring, 
one egg each day. If left to herself, she would 
commence to sit as soon as she had twelve or fif- 
teen eggs. By removing the eggs she is kept laying 
a much longer time. The breeds that do not sit 




Via. 31. Barred Hock. 



POULTRY 53 

have been known to lay as many as two hundred 
thirty eggs in a jear. 

Poultry in Pens. Chickens that have free range 
are more profitable and do better than those kept in 
pens. But fowls can be kept under many conditions. 
To do well they must have reasonably warm, dry 
quarters with plenty of light and fresh air. In parts 
of the West, where it is dry, a frame of poles is set 
up in November and covered with straw. The 
chickens run inside this warm shelter and do well. 
If a hen is protected from draughts, frost, lice, and 
bad air she is likely to think spring has come in 
February and will begin early laying, or perhaps 
she will lay all winter. Some breeds lay well in the 
winter time when they have good care. 

Care of Henhouse. Farmers should clean up their 
old henhouses with a shovel, broom, and boiling 
water. They should paint the roosts with kerosene 
to kill lice, and whitewash the walls. The cracks 
can be stuffed with straw and covered with tarred 
paper. Very soon the farmer will see his hens doing 
better. Leaves or straw make a tine floor covering, 
and they force the fowls to scratch for the grain. 
The house should be kept clean and fresh leaves or 
straw put in each week. (Fig. 33.) 

Laying Hens. Laying hens require different food 
from those intended for table use. Variety of food 
is important. One reason the hen lays in summer 
is because she chooses her own food and has a bal- 
anced ration. She eats all day long, a little at a 



54 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

time, and does not mope. A moping lien does not 
lay well, as exercise is necessary. Chickens in a 
pen need animal food, such as meat scraps and 
skimmed milk, to take the place of the insects that 
they get when they are allowed to roam. Cracked 
oyster shell furnishes lime for making the eggshell, 
and grit must be provided for grinding their food. 
Fresh water in clean dishes should always be within 
reach. During the winter season, corn may be given 
once a day because it is a warming food. Ground 
bone, table scraps, cooked potatoes, turnips, and 
vegetable tops are given instead of green food. 
Eggs, like milk, often show by their color, flavor, 
and odor what food the hens eat. 

Hatching Little Chicks. Hen's eggs are hatched 
by keeping them at the same warm temperature for 
twenty-one days. Many farmers prefer the hen to 
incubators for hatching. Perfect- shaped eggs with 
good firm shells should be selected for hatching. 
The fresher they are the better. When two broods 
of chicks are hatched at the same time, one hen 
may be able to mother both. 

How to Care for the Brood. Little chickens must 
be kept dry and must be carefully fed three times 
a day. Corn meal and bread crumbs and the yolk 
of hard-boiled eggs are a good beginning. If chicks 
are in a pen, cut grass from the lawn makes good 
green food. Soon a little chicken will eat wheat 
and cracked corn. Chicken lice are a great trouble 
to the tiny chicks and the mother hen, and the nest 



POULTRY 



55 




Fiii. 33. A .saniUir;! poullrii house. 



should be dusted witli powder a week before the 
chickens are hatched. Some of the powder may be 
mixed with lard and rubbed well on each chicken's 
head. 

Brooder Chicks. Incubator chickens have no 
mother to teach them to eat srrit and o-reen stuff. 



56 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUEE 

When chicks are first brought to the brooder, bread 
crumbs are sprinkled upon the floor among the grit, 
and in this way they learn to take food and grit at 
the same time. To make them eat promptly, the 





PPl 


HPfr:3,":- 


3 


H^^^B "^^i^ij 




* 





Fig. 34. Incubator babies. 

food may be taken away after five minutes. (Fig. 
34.) 

Fattening Broilers. When the chickens are 
weaned from the hen, the cockerels are put in a 
yard by themselves and fed on porridge made of 
four parts of corn meal, two parts of middlings, and 
one part beef scrap. The mixture is wet with 
skimmed milk until it will run from a wooden spoon. 
They are fed this at morning and at evening. They 
are allowed plenty of shade and kept as quiet as 



POULTEY 57 

possible. This makes tliem more meaty and soft 
than those that exercise. Chickens about a hundred 
days old gain the most rapidly. They often gain 
from one and three-fourths to two and one-fourth 
pounds in a month. When cockerels weigh two 
pounds or over they should be sold for broilers. 

Poultry Pests. Hawks capture many chicks. A 
good marksman can kill a few and hang them on 
pole^ around the yard as an object lesson. The 
best remedy is to keep the chicks in yards covered 
with wire until they are large enough to run for 
shelter. It is well to have low-growing shrubs 
where chickens can hide. If pigs run in the same 
tield with chickens they must be watched, for if a 
pig once gets a taste of chicken, he will chase them 
continually. Rats trouble chicks at night. Cement 
floors and stone foundations in chicken houses will 
keep out rats. Poison may be used if it can be kept 
away from the chickens. 



CHAPTER VII 



TURKEYS, DUCKS, AND GEESE 

Turkeys. A flock of turkeys lias helped many a 
farmer's daughter to a new winter outfit or bought 
her things to go away to school. Besides being a 
profitable bird at Thanksgiving time, they destroy 
millions of bugs which would injure the crops. The 
bronze turkey (Fig. 35) is the most common in the 
United States. Some turkeys are hatched by hens 
and some by incubators. The first food should be 
the curd of milk made like cottage cheese. To the 
cheese should be added chopped boiled eggs and a 
bread made of corn meal, skimmed milk, and salt. 
After turkeys are six weeks old, they get their own 
living catching grasshoppers and bugs. They need 

clean pens and clean 
food. Dampness is 
sure to kill young tur- 
keys, so they should 
be kept in their pens 
in the morning until 
the dew is off the 
grass. 

Fattening Turkeys. 
The turkey is usually 
allowed to roam until 
he is ready for market, 











{ 




k^f 




...... 


-m^l^k^ 


«u 1 


Wjk 








HHP^^ 



Fig. 35. Bronze turlcey. 



58 



TUEKEYS, DUCKS, AND GEESE 



59 



but about the first of October lie should have an eve- 
ning meal of good yellow corn. It is well to begin 
with a little at a time, but by the first of November 
he must go to bed with a full crop every night. 
This makes the flesh yellow, juicy, and tender. 

Ducks. Pekins are the most popular ducks (Fig. 
36). Duck's eggs can 
be hatched under hens 
or in incubators. The 
first food of the duck- 
lings should be a moist 
mash instead of dry 
feed. Ducks need plenty 
of water to drink, for 
they take a mouthful of 
food and wash it down 
with Waaler. They must 
have drinking pans 
deep enough so they can 

stick their heads in over their eyes, because that is 
their way of keeping their nostrils and eyes clean. 
The birds are dry-picked to save the feathers for 
pillows. Duck's eggs are popular, especially at 
Easter. 

Geese. The goose is the Christmas bird (Fig. 37). 
When geese are allowed to roam they gather most 
of their food, which is usually grasses and insects. 
In the winter months they must be fed one meal a 
day. Geese graze as freely as cattle and have been 
accused of destro^dng the roots of grass. They must 




Fig. 3G. Pclin duels. 



60 



ELEMENTABY AGRICULTURE 



iiave plenty of water for the same reason that ducks 
need it. The eggs are best hatched under a hen. 
A sitting goose is very cross and has been known 
to break a man's arm with a blow of her wings. 

Young goslings are easily chilled and must be 
looked after during cold rains. To make a rapid 




Fig. 



21i<^ Chiisti)ia<! hird. 



growth, geese must be fed wheat bran, corn meal, 
and scraps. They should have plenty of shade, 
vrater, and grass. They may be made ready for 
market in three months. Their feathers are valu- 
able for pillows and many other things. 



CHAPTER VIII 
INSECTS 

Insect Enemies. Almoat every plant lias an in- 
sect enemy that feeds npon it; and the farmer who 
wi:-hes to protect his crops, orchards, and gardens 
must know how to fight these plant enemies. In- 
jects form about nine-tenths of all the animal life 
ui)on the earth. Hundreds of millions of dollars' 
worth of farmers' produce is lost each year because 
of insects. (Figs. 38, 39, 40, 41, and 77.) 

Insect Friends. Certain insects, however, are use- 
ful to mankind. Some gather honey and carry 
pollen from flower to flower, while others spin silk, 
and still others clean away dead animals. These 
friends of man are: bees (Fig. 45), wasps, dragon 
flies, tiger beetles, silkworms, and many others. 

Parts of Insects. Insects when full-grown have 
the body divided into three parts: the head, the 
middle part, or thorax, and the abdomen or back 
part. On the head are the eyes, the feelers, called 
antennce, and the mouth. The chest or thorax bears 
the wings, of which there are usually two pairs, and 
six legs. 

Biting Insects. There are among insects two 
kinds of mouths. Such insects as grasshoppers and 
])eetles bite the food. Others, such as mosquitoes, 
bedbugs, bees, and butterflies, suck their food. 

61 



62 



ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 



Insects with biting' months have two pairs of jaws 
witli which they chew their food; and they often eat 
bark, leaves, frnit, and flowers. All these biting 
insects may be killed by spraying poison on the 
plants on which they feed. 

Sucking Insects. Insects with sucking mouths 
usually live ui)on the sap of plants or the blood of 




Courtesy U. S. Dept. of Asricultuix- 

Fig, 38. Knotty apphs from trees that were not sprayed. 

animals. Some few of them, such as bees and but- 
terflies, feed largely upon the nectar or sweets of 
flowers. Since they get their food from the inside 
of the objects on which they feed, we can not poison 
them, but must find some other method of fighting 
them. 

Contact Insecticides. Substances have been dis- 
covered which will kill insects when covering or 
touching their bodies. These are called contact 



INSECTS 63 

insecticides. Insects do not breathe tlirougli tlieir 
noses or mouths, but they have little holes, or pores 
placed along both sides of their bodies, and through 
these the air passes in and out. When anything 
clogs these breathing pores, they die. It has been 
found that certain oils and powders will destroy in- 
sects bv smothering them. Oils mav be mixed with 




Courtesy U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

Fig. 39. Apples from trees that icere sprayed. No farmer can afford 
to neglect Ms fruit crop. 

other materials so as to prevent damage to the plants 
on which the insects live. Kerosene emulsion is 
such an insect destroyer. Poisons may be put on 
the plants before insects appear as a protection, but 
contact insecticides must be applied to the insects 
themselves. 

Moulting of Insects. Insects have no bones or 
inside skeleton, but the skin becomes very hard and 



64 



ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUKE 




horn-like and is usually considered the skeleton of 
the insect. As it becomes hard it will not stretch; 

and when the insect has 
grown so large as to en- 
tirely fill this hard coat, 
a new or soft coat forms 
underneath ; and the old 
one is slied or cast off. 
The casting off of an old 
coat, or shell, is called 
moulting. The skin is 
moulted several times 
during the life of the 
insect, and each time it 
becomes larger. The 

Courtesy U. S. Dept. of Agriculture i • r i • xi • 

chiei changes m the m- 

FiG. 40. Curculio depositing its j » ti^ n 

egg upon a young peach. SCCt's lite USUally COmC 

in the last two moults. 
Stages of Development. 
Wasps, bees, butterflies, 
moths, beetles, flies, and 
mosquitoes have very re- 
markable changes in the 
last moults. Such insects 
are said to have four 
stages of life: (1) the egg 
stage, (2) the larva or 
grub stage, (3) the pupa 

stage, (4) the adult stage. courtesy U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 
\r igb. ■*_ dUU -iO.) stfoying the fruit. 




INSECTS 



65 



Larva Stage. Eggs hatch into the larva stage, 
which is the time of growth and when most of the 
eating is done. The larva of a butterfly is a cater- 
pillar, that of a fly is a maggot, and the larva of a 
mosquito is a wiggler. Some insects eat all the 
time during this growing stage, never going to sleep. 




Courtesy U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

Fig. 42. May heetlr. called also June hectic cr June hug ; a, heetle, 

b, pupa; c. cf/;/ ; d, iieuly-hatched larva; c, mature larva; 

f. anal scfinient of same from below. 



They stop only long enough to cast their coats. The 
kinds that live on flesh have, in some instances, 
been known to eat two hundred times their own 
weight in a single day. 

Pupa Stage. The larva then goes into a resting 
or sleeping state, enclosing itself in a case of some 
kind. This is called the pupa stage. Silkworms 
spin for their pupa stage a silken covering called a 
cocoon. While in this state the insects go through 



Wings and legs are 



many wonderful changes. 

grown and after a short time the full grown or adult 




Courtesy U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 



Fig. 43. Mexican Cotton Boll Weevil. 1, Weevil, hacTc view; 2, 

weevil, side view; 3, fully-groicn larva; 4, egg; 5, pupa 

ready to transform; 6, adult weevil with wing covers 

raised and wings extended, ready to tale flight. 



INSECTS 67 

insect comes forth a fly, a mosquito, or a beetle. 

Freezing the Insect. The blood of insects is trans- 
parent like water and is pushed along throngh the 
body by the beating of a large vein or artery which 
lies along the back, instead of by the beating of a 
heart. Insects are cold-blooded and can freeze with- 
out being killed. During the winter insects hiber- 
nate; that is, a great many varieties live through 
the' winter hidden away among old grass or under 
stones, logs, bark, and in the ground. Even the 
eggs of insects may be frozen solid and remain 
uninjured. 

Insect Life Short. Insects generally die soon 
after laying their eggs, though some kinds live 
longer, raising several broods. A great many die 
before their eggs hatch. Insects are found in all 
countries at all times of the year. They are found 
in our homes, gardens, and fields; in the air, water, 
and the earth: both within and upon the bodies of 
animals. We shall learn more of the different kinds 
of insects as we study the chapters on crops. 



CHAPTER IX 
THE BEE 

The First Sugar Makers. All the old Bible coun- 
tries had their beekeepers. Before the growing of 
sugar cane and the making of sugar was begun, 
bees furnished the only means of sweetening food. 
Our savage forefathers probably robbed the hollow 
trees where bees stored their honey and in time 
learned how to capture swarms. In England, not 
many hundred years ago, swarms of bees were so 
prized that they were willed from one family to 
another. 

Finding the Bee-Tree. To find a ' ' bee-tree, ' ' the 
hunters took to the edge of the woods boxes of 
diluted honey; then they followed in the direction 
the bees took as they flew home. It was believed 
when the bee had his honey basket filled, he took 
the straightest way possible to the bee tree. That 
is how we came to have the expression, "Take a 
bee line." 

The Honey Train. An American invented the 
hive which makes it possible for one man to take 
charge of many bees. There are many men who 
make beekeeping their business (Fig. 44). It has 
been estimated that if all the honey manufactured 
in the United States in one year were put in cars, 
it would make a train thirty-five miles long. 

68 



THE BEE 



69 



Where the Honey Comes From. Bees, with their 
loni»' tongues, take the sweet juice, or nectar, from 




Courtesy of "Bee Culture," Medina, Ohio 
Fig. 44. A profitable apiary. 

flowers, clover, buckwheat, alfalfa, black gum, chest- 
nut, and catnip. This nectar we may taste by pull- 
ing a clover blossom to pieces, but only the bee 
knows how to make it into honey. 

Pollen and Wax. It was once thought that the 
bees used the little yellow balls, which we some- 
times see clinging to their hind legs, for making- 
wax; but now we know the little yellow balls are 
made of pollen which the bee gathers from flowers 
for the purpose of feeding its young, and that the 
wax is secreted from their own bodies in much the 



70 



ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 



same way as a cow secretes milk. The wax forms 
in little scales on the under side of their bodies, and 
when they want to use it they pick it off with their 
feet. After mixing it in their mouths, they use it 
in building the beautiful combs with the six-sided 
pockets in which they store honey. 

Members of the Bee Family. We do not care to 




6 '^ 

Courtesy of U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 
Fk;. 45. The honey l)ee ; a, tcorlcer ; 6, queen; c, drone. 
[Twice tlie natural size.] 

go very near bees when they are at work, so not 
many of us know the difference between the queen, 
the workers, and the drones (Fig. 45). The queen 
is the largest and the most important bee in the 
hive. If we examine the cell, or living room of the 
queen bee, we shall find it nearly four times as large 
as those of the other bees. It is about the size and 
shape of a peanut and is usually placed on the edge 
of the comb. 



THE BEE 



71 



The Work of the Queen. The queen is the mother 
bee, and she lays all the eggs. It is said that a queen 
bee has laid more than three thousand eggs in a 
single day. There are some seasons when she does 
not lay so many, and there are other seasons when 
she does not lay at all; but it does not take long for 
her family to become too large for the hive. 

Why Bees Swarm. When the family becomes too 
big, they form a new family, or, in other words, they 
"swarm." (Fig. 46.) A cloud of bees comes out 
of the hive and lights on a near-by bush. From 




I -III ' s. ..f "Bee Culture." :\ri ■linn, Ohio 

Fig. 46. A stand of bees near the swarming time. 



72 ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUKE 

here they send out scouts to find new housekeeping 
quarters; they also wish to make sure their queen 
is with them. If they find she is not with them, 
they return to the old hive and wait for her before 
they start again. If the beekeeper is watching, he 
makes ready a clean, fresh hive and either shakes 
them in or places it where they will go in. 

The New Queen. The queen which takes her place 
in the old hive comes from an egg laid in the queen's 
cell. She has been fed with "royal jelly." This is 
much richer food than that which is fed to the baby 
bees which grow into the workers or drones, and it 
makes a much larger bee. (Fig. 45-b.) 

Getting a New Queen. In case an accident hap- 
pens to their old queen, the bees have a curious way 
of getting a new one very soon. The drones choose 
three cells which contain newly-hatched bees, they 
knock out the partition cells, kill two of the bee- 
babes, and feed the third on "royal jelly." 
* Dividing the Work. There are from thirty thou- 
sat^ to forty thousand workers in a good strong 
colony, and each bee has its own work to do. The 
young bees build the comb, feed the newly-hatched 
bees, and do general housework; those a little older 
secrete wax and help their elder brothers to shape 
pockets for storing the honey which these older bees 
bring in, A queen may live four or five years, but 
the workers that are hatched in the spring, work so 
hard that they often wear themselves out in forty 
or fifty days. 



THE BEE 73 

The Drones. The drones are the male bees. They 
are larger than the workers and have no sting. 
Somebody has called them the "tramps" of the bee 
family, because they do no work. When the workers 
tire of feeding- the drones, they kill them and throw 
them ont of the hive. (Fig. 45-c.) 

The Kind to Keep. Bees have been known to 
make from twenty-five to thirty pounds of lione^^ in 
a year in one hive. The Italian bees are considered 
the finest, because their longer tongues can reach 
nectar in the flowers that the black bee ,can not 
reach. They are also more gentle and easy to handle. 

Helping the Bee. To secure honey in the best 
shape for the market, the beekeeper places in the 
top of the hives frames which hold just one pound 
of honey. (Fig. 47.) These have a sheet of wax 
on which is impressed a network of six-sided cells. 
From this foundation, new cells are built by the 
bees. A machine has been invented that saves the 
time and energy of the bee in wax making. 

The Honey Extractor. Once a beekeeper's little 
son was playing with a piece of unsealed honey- 
comb in a basket. The lad had tied a piece of string 
to the handle. As he whirled the basket around 
and around in the air, his father noticed the honey 
dripping from the basket. When he found the cells 
of the honeycomb were nearl^^ emptied without in- 
juring the comb he thought, ''How much labor it 
would save the bees if they could fill their combs 
again instead of having to make new ones!" So 



^^^^^L. ^^^^^K"" 

^^V ^^^B— 


H^fl^iK|^pWflH^w 


^^^^^H 


O 


^Hjjj^H^^^^^I^^^HI^^^ 1 


^kI'^B^^ 


"*^' •^I^^^^H^^^Bk'^ . ' 




1 




^^^^ ■*'' ^^H 






^^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^H 





Courtesy of "Bee Culture," Medina, Ohio 
Fig. 47. It 's all in Icnoioing how. 



THE BEE 75 

he invented the honey extractor which empties many 
combs at once and gives ns the clear strained honey. 
It removes the honey from the comb without injury 
to the comb and without destroying its place in the 
frame; and these old combs are put back in the hive 
to be filled again. In this way bees are kept busy 
gathering honey instead of building comb. 

Keeping Them Warm in Winter. Bees must be 
protected from the cold in winter, or they may die. 
The ''box hive" incloses the real hive, leaving a 
space to be filled with chaff and other packing ma- 
terial. A small opening is left so the bees can get 
out in cold weather. They must have exercise in 
the open air to keep well. 

Do Not Starve Bees. In removing honey from 
the hive, care should be taken that there is enough 
left to feed the bees through the winter season. 
Sometimes a keeper prefers to feed the bees on a 
sirup made of sugar, so he can sell all the honey. 

Another Service. Besides the income the bees 
bring the farmer in honey and wax, they do him 
another great service. They scatter pollen from one 
plant to another. Many plants cannot bear fruit 
or seed unless their pollen is mixed. The wind does 
some of this, but the bee is the best mixer. He 
dives into the heart of a flower for nectar and gets 
his body covered with pollen and takes it with him 
to the next plant. It is said clover would not grow 
on the island of New Zealand till bumblebees were 
taken there to scatter the pollen. 



76 ELEMEiNTAEY AGRICULTURE 

Busy as a Bee. Now we know what busy, strange, 
helpful little creatures the bees are, and we do not 
wonder at the old saying, "As busy as a bee." 
Every farm has enough plants to provide several 
swarms with pollen and nectar, so that each one 
may have its own honey. What one needs to know 
about beekeeping he may learn largely from books, 
because it is said that more books have been written 
about the bee than about auv other domestic animal . 



CHAPTER X 



BIRDS 

A Story. A certain beautiful poem tells this 
story. Once upon a time the farmers of Killing- 
wor^i were troubled and angry, because the birds 
ate so much of their fruit and grain. So they held 
a town meeting and ordered every bird killed. Only 
one man, the village teacher, pleaded for the birds. 
He said it would be lone- 
ly without their cheerful 
songs. He reminded the 
farmers of the many in- 
sects which the birds de^ 
voured. He told them that 
the few cherries and the 
small measure of grain 
the birds ate were only 
just wages for the hard 
work they did in protect- 
ing the farmers' crops 
from worms and bugs. 
But the farmers did not 
heed his warning. The 
parent birds were shot 
and the little ones„ ,„ ^, „^, ^ -, -^ . 

Fig. 48. The Red-headed Wood 
starved in their nests, pecker, an enevuj of trte 

771 1 „ iiifiects and a friend of 

For one long summer the farmer. 

77 




78 



ELEMENTARY AGEICULTUEE 



there were no birds in Killingwortli. Hundreds 
of caterpillars and cankerworms and small insectvS 

destroyed the crops and 
the leaves on the trees. 
The land looked like a 
desert. At last the fool- 
ish farmers saw their 
mistake. They hastened 
to send away for many 
cag'es of singing birds 
which were again al- 
lowed to fly about at 
will. The story ends 
here, but w^e are glad 
to know that the birds 
we all love so much are 
of great use to us. 

Service to the Farm- 
ers. It will be imjjossi- 
ble to mention here all 
the helpful birds, Rob- 
ins hop about the fields 
and lawns and gardens, destroying grasshoppers 
and earthworms. The bluebirds, warblers, and 
chickadees work among the tree-tops, catching the 
insects which eat the tender leaves. The nuthatches, 
creepers, and woodpeckers (Fig. 48) patrol the bark 
of the trees, finding plant lice and borers. 

Other Friends of the Farmer. The swallows, fly- 
catchers, and kingbirds sail about the air, snapping 




Fig. 49. The Bobolinl, an enemy 

of grasshoppers, caterpillars, 

army worms and the lile. 



BIRDS 



79 



up flies and mosquitoes. When darkness comes, the 
owls and nighthawks go on duty and capture in- 
sects of many kinds. They swoop down and catch 
moles, meadow mice, and rats, that do harm to 
farmers' crops. 

Grosbeaks Are Friends. Grosbeaks are of such 
particular service to the farmer that in many states 
they are protected by law. The rose-breasted gros- 
beak, or "potato-bug" bird makes a tenth of his 
diet of potato beetles (Fig. 77). He also eats the 
cucumber beetle. He is accused of eating peas, but 
he is so useful in the garden that it is worth one's 
trouble to put 



netting over the 
peas. He may also 
be kept away by 
a scarecrow. He 
is very fond of 
orchards, for can- 
kerworms, caterpil- 
lars, and the moths 
and scale insects 
that attack trees are 
his special delight 
at meal time. The 
cardinal, or red-bird, 
belongs to the gros- 
beak family. They 
have been accused 
of pulling sprouting 




Fig. 50. The Meadoir Lark. 



80 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



grain, tlioiigh the examination of the stomachs of 
five hundred cardinals did not prove this to be true. 
Tarring the Seed. To prevent the western gros- 
beaks from pulling the seed grain, the farmers soak 
the seed corn or other grain in a barrel of water and 
stir it tlioroughly w^ith a stick dipped in gas-tar. 

When the grain be- 
comes black, it is 
spread on sacks and 
dried in the sun. With 
this coating of tar, it 
is safe from the birds. 
Seed planted with a 
checkrow planter is 
not disturbed be- 
cause the earth is 
packed. 

Protecting Grain 
Fields. Some farmers 
protect their fields of 
ripe grain by plant- 
ing a few rows of mil- 
let on the edge of the 
field. Birds prefer 
millet to other grain, but it should be sowed so as to 
ripen at the same time as other grain. 

The Grosbeak and the Orchard. Mulberry and 
june-berry trees will protect an orchard in the same 
way. The black-headed grosbeak, if not prevented, 
eats a good deal of fruit; but it has been estimated 




T'hi (■(iDinii 
Bohwhitc. 



(JIIIUI 



BIRDS 



81 



that for every quart of fruit he eats, he consumes, 
by measure, a quart and a half of black olive scales, 
a quart of flower beetles, and a large quantity of 
codling moth babies and eankerworms. If this is 
true, he certainly saves much more fruit than he 
destroys. 

Policemen of the Air. Some one has called the 
birds the little policemen of the air, because they 
protect us from the robber bugs and caterpillars. 
Insects make up nine-tenths of the animal life of the 
world, and it has been estimated that a bird will 
destroy thirty insects daily, so 
he is a very valuable little 
policeman. 

Eating Weed Seeds. Another 
great foe of the farmer is weeds. 
In one state alone the tree spar- 
rows are reported to have eaten 
eight hundred seventy-five tons 
of weed seed in one season. 
This included smartweed, rag- 
weed, bindweed, crab grass, and 
many others. The bobolink and 
meadow lark destroy many in- 
sect enemies of the crops and 
untold quantities of weed seed. 
(Figs. 49 and 50.) 

Big Appetites. Birds need a 
great deal of food, because thev 

.. rm J n .i' Fic. 51'. Mai: in q friends 

are so active. They eat all the of the birds. 




82 ELEMENTAKY AGEICULTURE 

time they are not sleeping or caring for their young. 
One flicker was found who had in his stomach five 
thousand ants; a nighthawk ate at one time sixty 
grasshoppers, and a bob white (Fig. 51) ate seven- 
teen hundred seeds of weeds for one meaL 

Making Friends of Birds. Birds may be coaxed 
to stay near the house and garden by protecting 
them from cats and bird-dogs and by making nest- 
ing easy for them. One kind-hearted farmer built 
a home for a wren. It was a box six inches square 
and about eight inches high. He put a little perch 
on the front and an entrance hole only one inch 
across, so the sparrows could not get in. He did 
not paint it, but left it wood color, for birds do not 
like bright-colored dwellings. The same little wren 
came on the fifth day of May every year for seven 
years and kept house in it. Martins and bluebirds 
also settled down in his bird houses. (Fig. 52.) The 
farmer's wife coaxed the orioles to build their 
strange little pouch nests on the limbs of their elm 
trees, by putting out yarn and cotton twine on the 
bushes in the nesting season. Covered arbors were 
made and vines allowed to grow to make sheltered 
places for rearing their young. 

Sharing with the Birds. A big mulberry tree in 
the garden furnished food for many songsters as 
well as plenty of pies for the farmer's family. On 
top of posts in the yard, out of the reach of cats, were 
shallow dishes which jirovided water for the birds; 
and the farmer left an opening under the eaves of 



BIRDS 83 

his barn so the swallows could get in and keep house 
among the rafters, because they keep the barn free 
from gnats and flies. This bird-lover was not so 
cordial to crows, blue jays, sparrows, and chicken 
hawks, for they destroy the eggs and the young of 
the song birds. 



PART II. SOILS AND FARM CROPS 

CHAPTER XI 
SOILS 

What the Soils Do. The layer of dirt or crust 
that covers the earth is .called the soil. It is so thin 
in places that the rocks appear through it. In other 
places it is deep. Plants and insects, birds, beasts, 
and men, are all fed on what grows in this layer of 
soil. It is marvelous that soil will produce so many 
different kinds of plants. 

A Light Soil. As we go about we notice that the 
soil of some fields looks quite different from that 
of others. Here we find a loose soil in which we 
can easily see a large amount of common sand. 
There we find soil that contains so much clay that 
bricks can be made of it. The more sand a soil 
contains the easier it is to cultivate it. It works 
better under the plow and harrow. For this reason 
a sandy soil is said to be a light soil. 

Heavy Soil. Clay soils stick together and are 
hard to work, both when they are very wet and very 
dry. If we make clay into mud pies, they will crack 
when they are dry. Clay soils behave this way in 
the fields. We have all seen the big cracks in clay 
soil in the dry midsummer. This kind of soil is said 

84 



SOILS 85 

to be cold, because it holds so much water instead 
of allowing it to pass through easily. Because clay 
soils are sticky and hard to work, we call them 
heavy. 

Crops for Clay Soils. Clay soils are excellent for 
pastures, and they wear well. Apples, pears, and 
grapes do well on them. They also produce good 
crops of hay, wheat, oats, beets, ,cabbages, and tur- 
nips.* But clay soils are too cold and wet for corn 
and too hard to allow potatoes to grow freely. 

Loam. A soil that is composed partly of clay 
and partly of sand is called loam. If there is more 
clay than sand, it is called a clay loam; if there is 
more sand, it is a sandy loam. A true loam is made 
up of about equal parts of clay and sand. This is 
the best farm soil, for loam makes a good home for 
plant roots. It is easy to cultivate, and because it 
allows moisture to pass through it readily, no time 
is lost after rains in waiting for it to dry out. 

What the Soil Contains. We know that all soil 
is made up of fine particles of rock or sand, of de- 
cayed plants, of water, and of insect life. It also 
contains air and another plant life which, perhaps, 
we do not know about, because Ave cannot see it. 
They are so small it would take many thousands of 
them to measure an inch. This low, tiny plant life 
we call bacteria. They are very useful in changing 
the soil so as to make it ready for plant food. Bac- 
teria must have air to live, and that is one reason 
we must have air in the soil. 



86 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 

Plant Food. In order that plants may grow, they 
need certain foods that we call plant foods. Plants 
get this food from the soil and the air. In ordei* 
not to rob the soil, we must know what our crops 
are taking out of it and how to put these plant 
foods back. 

Plants Need Many Foods. The plant needs a 
variety of foods, just as a hungry boy does. Ordi- 
nary plants need about thirteen different kinds. 
Some of these elements, or different kinds of foods, 
are obtained from the air, and others from the soil. 
To grow good crops, the soil must not only have 
enough of all the foods that the plants need, but 
they must be in such form that the roots can take 
them up and use them to build up the stalk, leaves, 
and fruit. 

Only Liquid Food. The foods taken from the soil 
are called mineral foods, because they are actually 
bits of minerals dissolved in water just as you dis- 
solve sugar or salt. Plants drink their food through 
tiny, hollow root hairs that take up this water solu- 
tion. They cannot take up solid particles of soil. 
So all this mineral plant food must be dissolved in 
water before it can pass into the plant and become a 
part of it. 

Water the Chief Plant Food. When soil is 
perfectly dry, plants cannot grow in it, for water 
generally forms about three-fourths of a plant's 
weight. Since the plant can take plant food from 
the soil only in liquid form, we see that water itself 



SOILS 87 

is not only an important i)lant food, bnt it carries to 
the stalk and leaves nearly all the other foods they 
need. After traveling through the rootlets up the 
stem to the leaves, the water that is not needed 
passes off from the leaves into the air. Therefore 
we see that plants take in much more water than 
they can use, for the sake of the food that the water 
brings with it. We are told that timothy hay needs 
three hundred tons of water to obtain the other 
foods necessary to make one ton of hay; oats require 
five hundred tons of water for a ton of plant. 

Other Food. A bundle of wheat as it comes from 
the self-binder weighs about ten pounds, and nearly 
nine and one-half pounds of this is composed of 
water and the carbonic acid of the air. A large 
part of the farmer's labor is done to supply the 
elements that make up the other half pound of this 
bundle of wheat. It contains ten simple foods and 
no two in equal amounts. The wheat cannot spare 
any one of these ten plant foods. So when the soil 
loses one element of wheat food, it is no longer good 
wheat land. 

Humus. Different parts of the same fields may 
have different colors. The red color of some clays is 
due to the iron in them, but the brown or black color 
of soils is usually due to the humus that they con- 
tain. Humus is the decay of plants. The leaf mould 
which we find under the dead leaves in the woods 
is a good sample of humus. This is a very impor- 
tant element in soil. Humus not only makes the 



88 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 

soil dark and rich, but it makes the ground loose 
and mellow so air can get in. It also enables the 
soil to hold far more moisture than would be pos- 
sible without it. Plants, we know, need both air 
and moisture about their roots, so humus is a valu- 
able aid to the farmer. 

Soil and Surface Water. How does the soil 
obtain and keep moisture and give it over to the 
plants! If we go into the fields after a heavy rain, 
we notice muddy streams running from the plowed 
land, carrying off good, fine soil. Part of the water 
that falls as rain and snow, runs off instead of 
sinking into the earth. This we call surface water, 
and it often does much damage to our fields; but 
much of the water that falls upon the ground sinks 
into the soil through cracks and holes and between 
the tiny grains of soil. When the land is dry the 
farmer likes a slow, steady rain, because it all soaks 
into the ground to feed plants, instead of running 
olf as surface water and carrying good soil with it. 

Why Clay Soils Are Wet. As the water passes 
through the soil, each tiny grain of sand and each 
little particle of earth is covered with a coat of 
moisture. All through the soil are small holes or 
open spaces between the grains, and into these the 
water goes. In such fine soil as clay, which packs 
closely, the spaces are small, and the water cannot 
pass through rapidly; so it is kept back in holes, 
open spaces, or puddles. In loose, coarse-grained 
earth, such as sand, the spaces are large; and the 



SOILS 89 

water passes tlirougli rapidly. Tliis explains why 
clay soil is sticky and wet while sand is a dry soil 
and almost never forms puddles. 

Holding Water for Plants. It is easy to under- 
stand how water will move downward through the 
soil wherever there are openings or pores. We also 
know that water-coated particles will pass on some 
of their moisture to dry ones that touch them, just 
as lamp oil passes up the wick. Thus, you see, mois- 
ture is always moving toward dry areas. This 
means a great deal to plants, for when their rootlets 
drink up the water that is around them and the soil 
about them is becoming dry, more moisture moves 
toward the dry place and supplies the thirsty plants. 
In this way plants may obtain nearly all the water 
in a good soil. 

Importance of Drainage. Some regions have con- 
siderable rainfall. Water soon forms a coat about 
each tiny grain of soil and fills the pore spaces. If 
more rain keeps falling, and the water cannot pass 
down easily through the soil, we have swampy land. 
This happens especially where the under drainage, 
as we say, is not good. In such swampy lands, the 
open spaces, or pores of the soil, are always full of 
water, and no air can penetrate the soil. 

Good Soil Contains Air. All plants need air about 
their roots as well as about their stems and leaves. 
The roots can not do their work without air, and 
they will not go deeper than the air can follow. 
Without air, seeds will not sprout, but will rot. 



90 ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 

Then, as we have said, there are the hosts of soil 
bacteria whose work it is to change certain plant 
foods for the plant's use; and these bacteria can not 
live without air. 

How to Drain Swampy Land. Level fields of clay 
soil are often unfit for crops, because they do not 
drain well. They are always water-soaked and 
swampy. Thus the farmer must drain such fields 
or allow them to lie idle. The best method is to 
tile-drain them. This is done by digging trenches 
from thirty to one hundred feet apart, according to 
the soil. In the bottom of these trenches tiles are 
laid. These tiles are merely hollow tubes about a 
foot long, made of clay and burnt hard like brick. 
They are laid end to end about four feet below the 
surface of the ground. Care must be taken to see 
that the tile line slopes gradually to some lower level 
at the creek or river. 

How Draining Helps. The tile drains carry away 
the excess of water. This allows air to enter the 
soil, and plant roots will follow as deep as the air 
and so get more plant food. Bacteria can also find 
better homes because of the air in the soil. 

A Map of the Tile Lines. The tile should not be 
too small, as small ones get filled up easily. Noth- 
ing smaller than three inches in diameter should be 
used, and in many places only four-inch tile are laid. 
Tiling a field costs a great deal of money and it 
should be done right. A map of the field may be 
kept showing just where every tile line is, so that 



SOILS 91 

if a section again becomes swampy, it will be easier 
to find any tile that has filled np and failed to do 
its work. 

The Farmer's Bacteria Friends. We have learned 
of the tiny bacteria plants that live in the soil and 
help to prepare food for the plants we cultivate. 
Some kinds of bacteria live in other places, and 
others are harmful; but these soil bacteria are very 
necessary and helpful, and the farmer works hard 
to make the soil right for them to grow. There are 
millions of bacteria in a cubic inch of fertile soil. 
They do not need sunlight as do most plants, but 
they do require air, moisture, warmth, and food. 

How They Help. Bacteria pounce upon all vege- 
table matter, such as leaves, wood, grass, and dead 
animal matter, that falls upon the ground and 
begins to decay, or rot. The bacteria break up all 
these substances into simple foods that are ready for 
the plant to drink. It would be of no use to manure 
soil if it were not for bacteria. 

Bacteria and Clover. Some kinds of bacteria set 
up housekeeping upon the tiny rootlets of certain 
plants such as clover, alfalfa, soy beans, and cow- 
peas. They take a certain element, that we call 
nitrogen, from the air and store it up in little 
bunches or swellings on the roots of these plants, 
ready for them to feed upon. Plants must have 
this nitrogen as food, and soil that contains abun- 
dance of it is rich soil. Every farmer boy knows 
that the fields are richest where clover, alfalfa, or 



92 ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 

cowpeas have been growing. (Fig. 53.) The reason 
is that the millions of bacteria have been at work 
upon their roots, storing up nitrogen for them and 
for other plants to feed upon. This explains why 
farmers use these crops to build up worn-out soils. 

Growing Several Crops. The farmer always raises 
some crops that pay better than others. Corn may 
pay better than oats, and yet it is wise to grow some 
oats, because the two crops can be worked at differ- 
ent times. A farmer may raise all the corn he has 
time to take care of and still raise a field of oats 
besides. Barley, oats, and spring wheat require 
attention at the same time. So the farmer usually 
chooses only one of these crops. Rye and winter 
wheat must be worked at the same time, and so the 
farmer grows but one of these in a season. 

Not Too Many Crops. It is better to raise a num- 
ber of crops than to put the whole farm into one, 
because the farmer wishes to provide work for him- 
self and his laborers all the time. It is not well, 
however, to have too many crops, because they may 
call for too much machinery. A farmer can not 
afford to buy the necessary tools for potatoes or 
wheat or orchards unless he has a fair-sized field 
in such crops. But small vegetables and fruit for 
home use should all be raised on every farm in 
gardens and small orchards. 

Rotation of Crops. Rotation means that the crops 
grown on each field are changed every year or two. 
Nearly every successful farmer does this. Still 



SOILS 



93 



there are fields tliat have never grown any crop but 
cotton; others, nothing but wheat. This is bad for 
the land, and the thoughtful farmer does not prac- 
tice it. 

Good Reasons for Rotation. By rotating and 
having several different crops, the laborers and 
teams are kept busy. The farmer has some crops 




Fid. 53. tluivi' t-ud Kith poldsJt and pliosidiurub ft)tdi:ti yi<ld(d 26 
hushcJs of corn per acre, .^hown at Ihe left, as compared with ]3.-'i 
bushels lohere potash and phosphorus were iised without clover, 
shown in the center, and '28.5 bushels where peat, potash, and phos- 
phorus were used, shown on the right. This shows the importance 
of adding nitrogen and organic matter to sandy soils. 

to sell and some to feed. He also escapes a total 
crop failure, and he keeps his soil in better condi- 
tion. By growing the same crops on the same fields 
year after year, certain weeds get the upper hand. 
By changing crops, these weeds are checked, be- 
cause the crops are worked at different times and 
in different ways. Then, too, there are some plant 



94 ELEMENTAKY AGEICULTURE 

diseases and insects tliat will get a big start unless 
other crops are introduced on the field. When in- 
sects find their favorite crop gone and one growing 
that they do not like, they are without food and 
starve to death. But perhaps the most important 
reason for rotation is to keep up the supply of 
humus in the soil by growing clover, alfalfa, or cow- 
peas and plowing them under to restore the vege- 
table mould or humus. 

Rotating in the North. There are different sys- 
tems or methods of rotating crops. Many good 
farmers in the Northern states divide their farms 
into five fields, and on each field they raise corn, 
followed by oats, then by wheat, then clover, and 
lastly by timothy. Then they plow the timothy 
stubble and again start w^ith corn. Try to make 
five diagrams or maps to show what each field con- 
tains each of the five years. 

In Potato States. In some potato-raising sections, 
they have a three-year rotation: a crop of potatoes 
is followed by one of wheat or oats, and that by a 
clover crop. Such a farm is divided into three fields. 
In the Corn Belt a good rotation is corn for two 
years, next oats, and then clover and timothy. 

Rotation for Cotton. For cotton plantations a 
good system is: Cotton the first year, followed the 
second year by corn Avitli cowpeas planted between 
the rows or sown broadcast just before the last cul- 
tivation of the corn; the third year oats are grown, 
and they are followed by cowpeas the same season. 



SOILS 95 

Phosphorus a Plant Food. We have learned that 
a plant needs many plant foods, but the most of 
them are usually found in the soil and in the air 
and water in great plenty. If the farmer needs to 
put nitrogen in his soil, he may do it best by sowing 
a crop of red clover, alfalfa, or cowpeas. But all 
plant foods ,can not be put back into the soil by a 
crop. If a farmer raises and sells corn or wheat, 
he is'taking out of his soil and shipping away one 
important plant food called phosphorus. Most of 
the phosphorus that corn and other grains require 
before they can grow well, they store up in their 
seed or grain. And when this grain is sent away 
to market, it takes with it three-fourths of the phos- 
phorus used by the crop. 

Putting Phosphorus Back. This must be put back 
into the soil somehow; and it may be done by pur- 
chasing bone meal from stockyards companies who 
buy and slaughter our stock, or by purchasing 
manure for our fields or by buying rock phosphate 
from the places in Tennessee or Florida where this 
mineral is mined and ground for fertilizer. 

Keeping Up the Land. Phosphorus is the plant 
food most likely to be wanting in our rolling 
prairies, in the hilly timber lands, and in soils worn 
out by long cultivation. If clover will not grow 
well, one may feel pretty sure his fields need phos- 
phorus, and, perhaps, lime. For most farms, all that 
is needed to keep them up is plenty of rock phos- 
phate, with a crop of clover, alfalfa, or cowpeas, in 
rotation and all the manure made on the farm. 



CHAPTER XII 
PLANTS AND HOW THEY GROW 

Learning about Plants. Since men and animals 
live largely on plants, and farmers are kept busy 
growing crops to feed the world, we want to know 
more about how plants grow and produce seed. We 
may easily see what the animals about us eat and 
drink, but it is not so easy to learn just how plants 
eat and grow and bear fruit. 

Dividing Their Work. Plants need food, water, 
and air, just as animals do. They also need warmth 
and light. The plant has different parts — a stem, 
roots, leaves, and flowers. It divides its work up 
among these parts. The roots of the plants have 
their work, and it is different from that of the stem 
and leaves. 

Roots and Their Work. Let us first look at the 
roots. Pull up a radish from the garden, and you 
notice that the upper part of the root is large and 
round and is stored full of food. Below is a tap 
root which grows smaller and smaller to the end 
several inches down. All along this tap root are 
tiny rootlets with root hairs branching off from 
them. These root hairs cover only the tips of the 
smallest rootlets, but they extend out in all direc- 
tions. They are very close together, for often there 
are as many as thirty thousand on one square inch. 

96 



PLANTS AND HOW THEY GEOW 97 

They are not young roots, because they never grow 
larger. They are only tiny little hollow tubes which 
contain sap. They have no pores, or holes for water 
to enter, but it easily soaks through their thin walls. 
Thus these root hairs drink in the soil water which 
contains many of the plant foods; and the sap car- 
ries this watery food up along the larger roots and 
stem to the leaves. Here the sunshine helps to make 
the plant food ready to build up the stem, leaves, 
and the fruit of the plant. The larger roots do not 
take plant food from the soil. Their work is to hold 
the plant firmly in its place in spite of storms and 
heavy rains. When a plant is taken up to be trans- 
planted, most of the small rootlets with their many 
long hairs are broken off. Perhaps you can now 
understand V7\\j a plant is so likely to wilt when it 
is transplanted. 

The Stem. The stem, or trunk, bears the leaves 
and holds them up in the air and sunshine. It car- 
ries the watery plant foods from the roots up 
through the outer wood layer to the leaves. The 
materials, or starch and sugar from the leaves, pass 
down through the bark to the part where they are 
needed to enlarge the plant. 

The Leaves. But more interesting than roots or 
stem are the leaves. They serve as so many stom- 
achs where the plant food is digested and made 
ready for use. The chief work of the leaves is to 
make the plant foods over into starch and sugar. 
They take a large part of this starch and sugar, 



98 ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTURE 

called carbon, from the air, but the other parts come 
to the leaves through the root hairs. The leaves 
also give olt' to the air all the water that is not 
needed by the plants. If the leaves give off more 
moisture than the roots supply, as they often do on 
very hot days, the plant wilts in order to prevent 
further evaporation. 

The Flower. The starch and sugar made by the 
leaves is either stored up for food or used at once 
to build plant tissue. When enough has been stored, 
the plant begins to flower. The flower is sometimes 
beautiful like the apple blossom, but often, as in 
the wheat or oats, it is not showy. 

The Seed. The flower of plants has a very im- 
portant work to do, because it contains the parts 
which create the fruit. The fruit contains the seeds 
from which new plants may be grown. If the flower 
fails to do its work, there will be no fruit, no seeds, 
and no new plant, unless a new plant can be started 
from a slip or cutting of the old plant. 

The Father and Mother. The flowers of different 
plants differ very much, but they usually have two 
parts. One is the "pistil" or mother part, which 
contains the ovary or seed food. This seed food 
will not grow into seed unless it receives some pollen 
or yellow dust that grows on another part called 
the "stamen." The seed itself is a tiny baby plant 
all tucked under a good cover with food enough for 
it to live on until it can send out rootlets into the 
ground. 



PLANTS AND HOW THEY GEOW 99 

The Corn Flowers. Every plant must have its 
flowers with their stamens and pistil, but the sta- 
mens and pistil are not always together in the same 
flower. Examine a cornstalk as it grows. The 
tassel is the stamen, or father flower, wdth its yellow 
dust, or pollen; and the ear is the pistil, or mother 
flower. If the pollen does not fall from the tassel 
on the silks of the ear to fertilize the ear, there will 
not be a grain of corn on the cob. 

Carrying the Pollen. The corn is only one of 
many plants that have their male and female flowers 
separate. Such plants depend partly upon the wind 
to carry the pollen from the father flower to the 
pistil where the new seed is to grow. Some plants 
depend upon insects to carry the pollen for them. 
So these plants have developed bright colored 
flowers that the insects can easily see. They also 
secrete a sweet food, or nectar, to reward the in- 
sects for their trouble. They hold out bright red 
and yellow and blue petals and say to the insects, 
''Here you can get good honey." 

Night Workers. Some plants depend upon in- 
sects that fly only at night to carry their pollen. 
These plants do not have bright flowers, because 
colors cannot be seen well in the darkness. They 
have white flowers; and to aid the insects in finding 
them they have a strong, sweet odor or fragrance 
that guides their friends. The insects come from 
far and near for the sweets. They brush against 
the stamens and get covered with yellow pollen dust. 



100 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUEE 

Away they go to other flowers, leaving some of this 
pollen on every jDlant they touch. When they go 
in deep for the honey, they leave pollen on the pistil 
just where it is needed. 

Pollen from Other Plants. Plants bear the strong- 
est and best fruit and seeds when the pollen has 
been brought to them from another plant. In a 
cornfield the ears on one stalk may receive pollen 
from its own tassel and from a dozen others stand- 
ing near. Sometimes when a farmer wants corn for 
seed, he goes about a certain part of his corn lot 
before the silks come out and cuts off the tassels 
of all the poor stalks. In this way he allows the 
ears to receive pollen from only the strongest plants. 

Kinds of Plants. There are thousands of differ- 
ent kinds of plants in the world. Perhaps there 
was a time when the world was young when there 
were very few plants. But as they spread over the 
earth they found different kinds of homes. Some 
seeds were gradually carried into cold regions, and 
others into hot places; some found wet spots, and 
others came into deserts. Some found homes on 
high, rough mountain tops where the storms raged 
about them, while others fell into low, shady nooks 
where they were protected. 

How They Came to be Different. As the plants 
were slowly carried into such different kinds of 
homes, they kept fighting for life and food. Often 
many plants were struggling for air and sunshine 
on the same little spot; and only those that proved 



PLANTS AND HOW THEY GEOW IQl 

good fighters lived. Slowly but surely many of 
these plants changed to meet their new surround- 
ings and became unlike their early parents and even 
unlike their close kin. Each one set to work to pro- 
tect itself and get its own food, and thus it slowly 
developed new parts, new ways of growing, and 
new ways of fighting for food. Only the best and 
strongest plants lived to spread their seed. In this 
way the world came to be covered with untold 
multitudes of difi^erent kinds of plants. 

One Interesting Habit. It is interesting to study 
about the habits of different plants and how they 
grow and spread their kind. One of the important 
things about them that the farmer needs to know is 
how they scatter their seed, because many weeds 
grow and fight for life where the farmer does not 
want them. 

Scattering Their Seed. Some plants, like the 
cocoanut, grow their seed in a hard shell which is 
waterproof, and in this they float on streams and 
rivers to new homes. The seeds of the maple and 
ash trees have wings, and on these they sail away 
across the fields wherever the wind will carry them. 
The dandelion seed has a queer little balloon on 
which the wind carries it to some far-away home. 
Then we know the burdocks and stick tights that 
catch in our clothes or fasten themselves on passing 
animals and hold tight for a long ride, to fall at 
last and set up housekeeping in a new region. Any 
boy or girl who will examine the seeds of plants 



102 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 

and do a little thinking will discover many inter- 
esting and wonderful secrets about their different 
habits. 

How Man Helps. Man has chosen certain plants 
that furnish food for him and his flocks, and these 
he tries to help to good homes where they will grow 
and bring forth their harvest of grain or fruit. He 
spreads and sows these plants in several different 
ways. He sows the seed of the common grains or 
cereals, and covers them with earth. Sweet potatoes 
are grown from slips or plants; Irish potatoes, from 
the "eyes" of the potato; grapevines from cuttings 
or twigs clipped from the vine. Sugar cane is grown 
by planting a short piece of the stalk. Many plants 
do not come true from seed, and man has learned 
to grow them by grafting or budding. A bud or 
graft twig is taken from one plant and so carefully 
put upon another that it will grow as part of the 
plant. And the strange thing about it is that it will 
produce its own kind of fruit and not the kind of 
the plant on which it is grafted. There is no end to 
the wonderful things man is learning to do with 
plants. 



CHAPTER XIII 



TILLAGE AND FAEM MACHINERY 

Sowing and Reaping in Olden Times. For thou- 
sands of years after men learned to plant seed they 
tilled the soil with a forked stick. Their only object 
seemed to be to get the seed covered in the ground. 
In Egypt for long ages seed was scattered broad- 
cast by hand and herds of cattle were driven over 
the ground to tramp it in. These ancient people 
reaped their grain with a crooked knife and beat 
the kernels from the husks and chaff with a stick, or 




Fig. 54. The best and cheapest fertilizer. 

flail. Sometimes they drove their cattle over it on 
the bain floor to thresh it. Then it was ground into 

103 



104 ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUKE 

meal in stone basins with stone pestles. The crooked 
stick also served to dig the root crops. 

Wearing Out the Soil. Men of those times did not 
know how to cultivate crops. They knew that weeds 
injured the crops, but they did not know that it was 
because the weeds took the plant food, water, and 
air that their grain needed. When the land failed 
to bring a good harvest, the farmer concluded that 
the field needed a rest; so he rested it, or, as we say, 
let it lie fallow for one year. He did not know 
what w^e do to-day — that his land only needed a 
rotation of ,crops, that is, a different crop planted 
each year, or that barnyard manure would make it 
fertile again (Fig. 54). 

Jethro Tull. About two hundred years ago there 
lived in England a landlord named Jethro Tull. He 
watched his crops closely and soon saw that the 
fields he worked or tilled the most brought the 
largest crops. He taught other farmers that tillage 
was the most important part of farming. He be- 
lieved that fields would never wear out if they 
were always cultivated thoroughly. He thought that 
plants took their food in solid little grains or parti- 
cles, and the only thing needed was to break up the 
soil very fine and the plants would eat it as a calf 
eats bran. We know that Tull was mistaken in 
thinking that plants take their food in solid form, 
but he did a great service to his farmer friends and 
to all the farmers since that time by showing them 
how important tillage is (Figs. 55a and 55b). 



TILLAGE AND FARM MACHINERY 



105 




Courtesy U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 
Fig. 55a. A field in poor tilili. Crops in such cloddy soil have a 
slim chance. 




Courtesy U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

Fig. 55b. A field in good filth. The hcst time to cxdtivate a crop is 
before planting it. 

Feeding Plants. We know that plants can nse 
only the plant food that is prepared for them. If 
it is not in the right form, it makes no difference 



106 ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 

how much food is in the soil, the plants will die 
in the midst of plenty. It is the farmer's task to 
see that the plant food in his soil is ready for his 
crops to use, and he tills the soil so that moisture 
can enter and be kept near the roots. Tillage 
loosens the soil so air can enter. Tillage also keeps 
down the weeds that steal the plant food and keep 
out the sunlight and warmth that the crops need. 
We can see that a great deal depends upon the 
farmer's stirring his soil at the right time. 

Keeping Moisture in the Soil. The well-tilled soil 
is broken into very fine grains or particles (Fig. 55). 
These fine particles will hold much more water than 
coarse ones, because each tiny grain has its own 
coat of moisture. This, you remember, is the reason 
clay soil will hold more moisture than sandy soil. 
Clay does not drink it in so rapidly, but it holds on 
to' it better. 

Moisture passes easily from wet grains of earth 
to dry ones that touch them, so we see that the 
looser the soil is the fewer are the particles which 
touch one another. If they do not touch one another, 
water cannot pass so easily from wet particles to 
dry ones and in this way climb to the surface and 
pass off into the air. The surface soil especially 
must be loose to keep the moisture from evaporat- 
ing, or getting back into the air. 

The Dust Mulch. The loose layer of surface, 
which we call dust mulch, acts just like a blanket. 
Turn over a log or a board in the barn lot in the 



TILLAGE AND FARM MACHINERY 107 

spring and you will find the soil under it more damp 
than the ground not covered. The board has kept 
the moisture from passing off into the air. When 
we remember how much moisture crops need, we 
will see how important the dust mulch is. Every 
time it rains hard it packs this mulch down, and the 
farmer should cultivate his crop again, to loosen the 
top soil. 

Dry Farming. Perhaps you have read or heard of 
dry farming. In many places in our great West 
there is not enough rainfall in a year to raise a crop. 
But if all that falls in two years could be kept, it 
would raise one crop. The farmers have learned 
that if they keep a dry mulch on the ground and 
save all the rainfall of one year, they have a pretty 
good chance to raise a crop the second year. It 
means that they must cultivate or till the ground 
for two seasons to get one crop, but that is better 
than raising nothing at all on these wide, dry areas. 
Where rainfall is less than twenty inches per year, 
dry farming or irrigation must be practiced. 

Irrigation. Two-fifths of the land of the United 
States is too dry to produce regular crops without 
irrigation. By irrigation is meant the storing of 
water in lakes and reservoirs by means of huge 
dams. This is done in the rainy season, when there 
is plenty to be had. This water is then turned on 
the fields by means of ditches when crops are grow- 
ing, where it takes the place of rainfall (Fig. 56), 
Some reservoirs are supplied from rivers that flow 



108 



ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 



the year round, while others must be filled in the 
rainy season. The United States Government is 




Fig. 56. A private irrigation pJavt. 



spending millions of dollars in the dry sections to 
save for crops some of the water that is going to 
waste. 

Making Machinery Better. A slight improvement 
on the crooked stick was a rude plow made from 
several sticks bound with thongs of skin. This was 
used after the ox had been taught to bear the yoke. 
Farming with such tools was hard and toilsome 
labor with little reward. A brush dragged over the 
plowed ground was probably the first harrow. 

Copper Tools. It was a great step forward when 
some one learned to smelt copper. Though copper 



TILLAGE AND FARM MACHINEEY 



109 



is soft and will not take on a sharp edge, yet it made 
far better tools than did sticks. The next step was 
made when it was found that by mixing tin ore with 
.copper a much harder tool could be made, with a 
better edge. This mixture is called bronze. Bronze 
tools were used for untold ages until some clever 
man found out how to make a fire hot enough to 
smelt iron ore. When iron tools and weapons were 
made, we have the beginning of all the wonderful 
machinery in use to-day. 

The First Iron Tools. Iron tools were few and 
costly at first, because the warriors needed all the 
iron they could get for their weapons. But men 
learned at last to make hillside furnaces for smelt- 
ing iron ore, and then the farmer got a few iron 




Fig. 57. Flit the soil in good tilth ivith a disk harrow before solving. 



110 



ELEMENTAEY AGKICULTURE 



tools. The day came when some clever farmer put 
an iron share on his plow to cut the soil. From that 
day to this men have gradually improved iron farm 
tools, and the splendid horse-power machines of all 




Fig. 5S. A tractor ciujinc drau-i)u/ four plows. 

descriptions which do farm work to-day are the 
result of the wonderful inventions of many bright 
minds. 

Farm Machinery of To-Day. The poorest farmer 
of to-day has a plow to turn the sod and stir the 
soil deeply; he has a cultivator to tear and break 
the soil, and a harrow to make it fine like ashes 
for the dust mulch (Fig. 57). Certain soils that 



TILLAGE AND FARM MACHINEEY 



111 



are sandy and too loose need rollers to pack them 
slightly. Every sort of harvester has been devised 
for gathering the crop. But farmers have not been 
content with horse power alone. They have har- 
nessed the wand to their windmills, they have 
hitched their plows and harvesters to great steam 
engines (Fig. 58), and they are using the power 
of gasoline engines to do many kinds of work about 
the farm (Fig. 59). Even electricity may be had 
where there is a waterfall to make it cheaply. 

Care of Machinery. It is important that the 
farmer take good care of his machinery and tools. 
More plows have been rusted out by the weather 
than have been worn out by use. There are three 
good rules for every farm. Keep all tools under a 
good roof when they are not in use. See that all 
machinery, wagons, and the like are kept well 




Fig. 59. A gas engine is a great labor saver on the farm. 



112 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 

painted, so they will last longer and save tlie farmer 
from buying new ones early. Use plenty of oil to 
save wear on all machinery. Oil and paint cost 
money; but if thirty-five cents' worth of paint will 
make a thirty-five-dollar machine last several years 
longer, it pays to use the paint. 






CHAPTER XIV 
CORN 

America and Corn Discovered. When Columbus 
sailed toward the west over the unknown ocean, he 
hoped to reach the rich cities of Asia and the Spice 
Islands. Here he expected to obtain a rich cargo 
of spices, some of which were worth their weight 
in gold. But, instead of reaching China, Columbus 
landed upon a new world where white men had 
never been before. Instead of rich cities, he found 
only a vast wilderness inhabited by savages whom 
he named Indians. The Indians lived by hunting 
and fishing and by raising a few plants which were 
new and strange to Columbus and his sailors. These 
were squashes, tobacco, and maize, or corn. Colum- 
bus never knew what a wonderful golden treasure 
he had found in this Indian corn. It has come to 
be one of the most valuable crops in the world. 
When the corn crops fail there is a scarcity of food 
for rich and poor and hard times for everybody for 
many months. 

Corn Saves the Pioneers. This Indian corn was a 
great blessing to the early immigrants from Europe, 
for the wheat and rye which they had brought with 
them would grow only in well-tilled fields and these 
pioneers were poor farmers with poor tools. There 
were no well-tilled fields, and men would not work. 

113 



114 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

They would have starved if the Indians had not fur- 
nished them with corn. The Indians taugiit the 
white men from Europe how to raise corn and how 
to make from it dislies fit for a king to eat. 

Indian Farming. The Indian methods of farming 
were very crude and simple, for they knew very little 
about tilling the soil. The Indian squaws killed a 
patc-li of forest trees by cutting a girdle around each 
one when the sap was running in the spring. After 
the trees died and the sunlight shone in, the squaws 
scratched the grains of seed corn into the ground, 
with a crooked, sharp stick for a hoe. Here, without 
the use of plow or harrow, the corn sprang up in the 
rich earth, and a harvest of yellow ears provided 
food for winter. 

Where Corn Grows. Since that time corn has 
been one of the chief crops of the American farmer 
in most sections, and to-day it is the most important 
of all. Corn can be raised in nearly every part of 
North America. In the North, where the summers 
are short, the farmers have developed a kind that 
grows only three or four feet high and that will 
ripen in seventy days. In the Southei-n countries 
of Mexico and South America there are kinds of 
corn that grow more than twenty feet high and 
require six months in which to ripen. 

The Corn Belt. Corn is now raised in many coun- 
tries, but about three-fourths of the world's supply 
is grown in the United States, and nearly one-half 
of the world's supply in the seven states known as 



CORN 115 

the Corn Belt. They are Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, 
Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, and Ohio. The Corn 
Belt supplies many other states and countries with 
its surplus of corn. Besides a good soil in which 
to grow, corn needs hot weather with long days of 
bright sunshine and a great amount of rain. 

A Corn Train. If the corn crop of the United 
States in 1912 had been placed in wagons, with fifty 
bushels in each load, and each wagon and team had 
been allowed twenty feet of space, the train of corn 
would have reached more than nine times around 
the earth at the equator. 

Corn Land Valuable. Where corn thrives, it 
yields about twice as much food for each acre as is 
produced by any of the other grains. That is the 
reason why land in the Corn Belt is very high in 
price. Corn is grown in many places where only 
a half-crop is obtained, for a half -crop of corn yields 
as much food as a full crop of wheat or rye. 

Choosing Good Seed. It is believed that the farm- 
ers in any state in the Union could increase the yield 
of corn from five to twenty bushels an acre if they 
were trained in choosing their seed corn. In order 
to choose well the farmer must be a good judge of 
an ear of corn. To know a prize ear is not such a 
difficult lesson to learn. 

The Prize Ear. A perfect ear should be round, 
tapering, and full and strong in the middle. It 
must be firm to the touch, and the kernels should 
not be loose on the cob, as this shows that the ear 



116 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



is not tlioroiiglily ripened. The distance around the 
ear one-third of the distance from the butt should 
be about three-t'ourlhs oi' the entire length. The 







rows of kernels must 
be straight, and there 
should not be fewer 
than sixteen nor more 

Fu;. i!0. Apn:ccar. ^^^.^^ tweutv - eight 

rows on the cob. In most sections the ear is from 
eight and one-half to ten inches long, and it should 
be filled out to the tip (Fig. GO). 

Good Kernels. The kernels to be planted should 
be wedge-shaped, with the edges touching those next 
to them their entire length from crown to cob. They 
should have deeply indented crowns without pointed 
or sharp corners. The color needs to be true to 
variety and free from mixture. 

Cobs. Ordinary ty]H^s of white corn should have 




Fio. Gl. A coh may be too /«;<;<• or too smnll. 

white cobs, and yellow corn should have red cobs. 
However, certain varieties of types vary from this 



COEN 



117 



mlo. Tlio doopor or loiii>or tlio kernel, tlie greater 
the |)r()i)ortioii of corn to cob. An extremely large 
col) means late ma- 
turity and less corn 
in pro]iortion to cob 
(Fig. (51). The ears 
should carry their 
size well out to the 
tip^. The wider 
the furrows between 
the rows of grain on 
the cob, the lower the 
proportion of corn 
to cob (Fig. 62). 

When to Select 
Seed. Some farmers 
are satisfied to 
choose the finest 
ears from the crib, 
but a better way is 
to select from the 
fields at husking 
time. By taking 
seed from stalks 
bearing two well- 
formed ears, the 
next crop will have 
more two-eared 
plants, and thus the 
crop will be larger, 
crop, it is safer to see the plant on which it grew. 




Fig. 62. Space hetivecn kernels next to 
cob, ohjcclioiiahle. Ears Nos. 1 and 2 
are same Jengih and circumference. 
Ear No. 2 shelled out ^3 per cent more 
corn hy weight than No. 1. 

In order to choose seed for any 



118 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 

because like produces like. Careful selection of seed 
is the most profitable farm work. 

Curing the Seed. Every ear intended for planting 
must be gathered before the autumn freezes, since 
freezing corn that is not well dried injures the seed 
germ. Seed corn should be hung up where the air 
can circulate about it freely. A good place to hang- 
seed corn is in the attic over the kitchen, with the 
windows open. 

The Corn Tree. The "corn tree" is a device for 
drying corn. It consists of an upright post driven 
full of small-headed nails. An ear of corn is easily 
stuck on each nail by jamming it into the pith at 
the butt end. A wall driven full of nails will serve 
the same purpose of holding the ears apart so they 
will dry quickly. 

Testing Seeds. Every ear intended for seed 
should be tested to see if the corn will sprout or 
germinate. Take six seeds from each ear and i3lant 
them for a test, keeping the ear marked by number. 
This will insure a good stand and prevent replant- 
ing, which causes a spotted field and a poor and 
uneven crop (Fig. 63). 

Improving Corn. A good way to improve the 
variety is to plant the seed from the hundred best 
ears on one side of the field and to choose the seed 
for the next year from this planting. In this way a 
farmer will improve his crop every year. 

Planting Evenly. To-day most farmers plant with 
machines, and the planter will not drop the corn 



CORN 



119 



evenly unless the kernels are of the same size. It is, 
therefore, wise to shell oif and discard the kernels 




Fig. 63. Testing twelve ears of seed corn. 

on both the tip and butt of the ear which are of 
irregular size and shape. The corn grader is a 
machine which will do this work of sifting out the 
poorly-shaped kernels, or it may be done by hand 
if the crop is small. It is a good plan to test the 
corn planter to be sure it will drop three kernels in a 
hill. 



120 



ELEMENTARY AGEICULTUEE 




Fig. 64. TIte old nay of spreading manure leaves the field unevenly 
fertilised and the crop grows and ripens unevenly. 

Making the Soil Rich. The farmer prepares his 
fields well before sowing. He adds to the soil by 
spreading over it barn-yard manure, for manure 
contains the most plant food of anything he can 
put on his fields (Figs. 64 and 65). Instead of 
spreading manure on the corn lot, the farmer may 
choose fields to plant where he has the year before 
raised a crop of clover or cowpeas, because he 
knows that these two crops enrich the soil for corn 
(Fig. 53). Sometimes he buys a fertilizer made of 
certain foods which the plant needs, but this costs 
a great deal of money. 

How to Plow. To prepare the ground the good 
farmer plows rather deep to bring fresh soil up to 
the air and sunshine. The air and sunshine help to 
make the plant food ready for the little corn rootlets 



CORN 



121 



to take up. The ground should not be plowed when 
the soil is very wet, for it stays in hard lumps and is 
not easily broken up so the roots can reach into the 
earth. 

How to Keep the Ground Moist. The plow is fol- 
lowed by a disk or spring-tooth harrow (Fig. 66) 
until all clods are broken and the surface is mellow 
and fine like ashes. This ashy top soil acts like a 
blanket to keep the moisture in the ground from 
escaping. 

Planting the Crop. Field corn should be planted 
in rows about three and one-half feet apart. Years 
ago a few grains of seed were dropped into each 
hill by hand and covered with a hoe, but to-day the 
farmer uses a checkrow planter drawn by a team. 




Fig. 65. Manure should be spread evenly. 



This machine plants the corn so it can be cultivated 
both ways and be kept clean more easily. 



122 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



Keeping the Weeds Down. A few days after 
planting, the field should be harrowed to kill the 
grass and weeds that are ready to sprout, because 
they grow faster than the corn. When the corn is 
a few inches high the harrow must be used again to 
break the crust and to supply air to the soil as well 
as to keep the weeds and grass down. 

Plowing the Corn. The field should be cultivated 
two or three times more, but after the corn roots 
have spread out between the rows, it is not safe to 
plow too close to the row or too deep, for fear of 
breaking off millions of little rootlets that are feed- 
ing the plant. This applies also to the raising of sweet 
corn or pop corn and other crops needing tillage. 




Fig. 66. Spring-tooth harrow. 



COEN 



123 



Gathering the Crop. When the lower leaves on 
the stalks begin to die, the corn is ready to cut. 







, x~ . i-: Iri-:^ •' r'-=r^,3S»v-<-4'^'^-^" 



Fig. 67. The corn cutler. 

This may be done with a hand cutter or with a corn 
harvester (Fig. 67). About sixty hills are cut and 
gathered into one shock. The tops are bound to- 
gether so the shock will stand while the corn cures, 
which requires about six weeks. When the leaves 
are dry the husking takes place, and the ears are 
stored in well-ventilated cribs built high from the 
ground and protected from the rats and mice. Send to 
the Department of Agriculture for plans for the crib. 



124 



ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 



Saving It All. In some places the corn is husked, 
or picked, standing in the field and the cornstalks 
are burned. This is a great waste, for cornstalks 
make good food for horses, cattle, and sheep, and 
they like it very much. A machine which husks 
the corn and shreds the tops and leaves makes a 
feed called corn stover that is as good for live stock 
as timothvhav. Makino- fodder into stover saves it all. 




FUUmj the .sth 



A Great Discovery. Every farmer knows that 
cattle like green feed much better than dry. But for 
a long time nobody knew hoAV to keep feed green 
through the winter. Many years ago, in Europe, 
a stack of wet, green grass was covered with earth 
by accident. When winter came this stack was 
uncovered and the grass was still green and juicy. 
It was greatly relished by the cattle. 



CORN 125 

Building Silos. After tliat, farmers began to dig 
pits in the ground to keep feed green. Such pits 
were called silos, and to-day they are made above 
ground of cement or wood and placed near the cattle 
barns (Fig. 68). Cattle will eat more silage than 
fodder, and cows fed on it give more milk. When 
corn is grown for the silo it is planted about one 
stalk every seven inches, in rows three and one-half 
feet apart. 

Corn a Treasure. Corn is the backbone of farm- 
ing in our country. Not only is it good for live 
stock of all kinds, but it feeds more people than 
any other grain except rice. Many useful things 
are made from corn besides the fodder, grain, and 
meal for feeding. The silks are used in the making 
of filters, and corn husks are made into mattresses. 
Pith is used for the packing of cofferdams of battle- 
ships. Oil, varnish, starch, alcohol, and many other 
articles are made from corn. There is one factory 
in the United States that makes forty-two different 
corn products. 



CHAPTER XV 
WHEAT 

White Bread. Nearly the entire wheat crop of 
the world is used for human food. Wheat bread is 
such a common food in our country now that we do 
not realize that it is still considered a great treat 
by some classes of people in other parts of the 
world. The poor peasants in many lands eat bread 
made of rye, barley, or millet, because it is cheaper 
than ''white bread." Millions of people in Asia 
eat rice, but wheat flour makes a light bread that 
is more healthful and tempting than that made by 
any other grain; and as fast as the poor classes of 
people can afford it, they demand wheat bread. 

The First Wheat Farmers. Who the first people 
were to raise wheat we do not know, because it hap- 
pened, like so many other interesting things, before 
men learned to write. Neither do we know where 
it first grew. The ancient lake-dwellers of Switzer- 
land raised a kind of grain very much like our 
wheat. Some scholars believe that the early home 
of wheat was in the Euphrates Valley, in western 
Asia. Others think it first grew in Palestine. A 
kind of wheat has lately been found growing wild 
on the mountains of Palestine, and some people are 
sure that our wheat has come from this wild kind. 
Wheat was grown in China many hundred years 

126 



WHEAT 



127 



before Christ lived, and the Chinese said that it was 
given to tliem direct from heaven. 

Wheat in America. Wheat was the first grain 
brought to onr country by the Jamestown colony 
in 1607. These pioneers cut down forest trees to 
build a fort, and in the cleared places they sowed 




Fig. 69. The reap hoo]{, an ancient tool for' reaping grain. 

wheat. The first crops were very poor, but they 
wanted white bread, so they kept planting a little 
more each year. The crops were cut with the reap 
hook, or sickle, which is merely a knife with a 
curved blade (Fig. 69). It was threshed by being 
trod u]ion by horses and oxen. 

The World's Crop. Our country does not produce 
so large a part of the world's wheat crop as it does 
of the corn. Europe raises twice as much wheat as 
does North America. European countries get twice 



128 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEB 

as mucli from an acre as we do, so they can raise it 
as cheaply as we do on our large farms in the West. 

Kinds of Wheat. There are several kinds of 
wheat. Some kinds are sown in the fall and remain 
on the field through the winter. Such kinds are 
called winter wheat. Others are sown in the spring 
and are called spring wheat. 

Climate. Wheat is better suited to short summers 
than is .corn, so it can be grown much farther north. 
For several years farmers have been moving by 
hundreds to the wide prairies of western Canada 
for this purpose, and they are making it a great 
wheat country. 

Preparing the Soil. This crop will grow on a 
great variety of soils, but it seems to thrive best on a 
light clay. The land that is to be used for winter 
wheat needs to be plowed as early in the summer 
as possible. Such early plowing loosens the ground 
so it will hold more moisture. The soil should be 
made fine and loose. For spring wheat one may 
plow the fall before, or early in the spring. 

Sowing the Seed. Winter wheat is sown early in 
the fall, so that it may grow strong before the cold 
weather comes. Spring wheat should also be sown 
early, because wheat will sprout and begin its 
growth while the weather is still cool. Six to eight 
pecks of wheat are sown to the acre, and the seed 
is planted about two inches deep. The lighter and 
looser the soil, the deeper should be the planting. 
In olden times wheat was scattered by hand and 



WHEAT 



129 



harrowed in, but now it is nearly all sown by the 
drill (Fig. 70). 

Cultivation. In most countries wheat receives no 
cultivation between the sowing and the harvesting. 
In some places it is harrowed or rolled after the 
seed has begun to sprout or after it has taken firm 




Fig. 70. .1 irlnnt drill. 



root. This is done to kill weeds and to keep moisture 
in the ground, as we do for corn. But most wheat 
farmers think this does more harm than good. In 
Japan wheat is planted in wide rows and hoed. 
Vegetables are raised between the rows. A hundred 
years ago wheat was hoed with a mattock. Wheat 
may be pastured in the winter when the ground is 
frozen, but not late in the spring. 



130 



ELEMENTARY AGPICULTUEE 




Fig. 71. The cradle ivas a great improvement over the reap hook. 



Wheat in Rotation. Wheat should never be grown 
on the same fields year after year with no change 
of crop. It was grown in England fo-r many years 
to test this. When it was grown on the same field 
every year for twelve years the average crop was a 
little more than twelve bushels to the acre. When 
it was grown every fourth year, with three other 
crops between, the yield for each acre was twenty- 
eight bushels, or more than twice as much. 

Enemies of Wheat. Wheat seems to have more 
enemies than any other crop that the farmer raises. 
He never knows when he sows his fields what he 
shall reap or whether he shall reap at all. Very hot 
or cold weather may ruin the crop. Drouths may 
come and the plants die of thirst; or it may rain too 
much and drown the wheat. Storms of hail or wind 



WHEAT 



131 



or floods may ruin it. Smut, or rust, or insects may 
devour it. The farmer has more risks to run in 
growing wheat than in almost any other farm crop, 
yet mankind is willing to pay extra for wheat bread. 
Harvest Home. In most regions wheat must be 
harvested very promptly, or much of the crop may 
be damaged or lost. Before good machinery was 
invented it was a very toilsome task to gather the 
wheat crop. So much hard work had been put into 
it and such a long time had gone by since the grain 
was sowed that the farmer was always anxious at 
harvest time to reap his crop and pay his expenses. 
At the close of the season the people held great 
rejoicings, called in England "harvest home." 
They formed a procession, with music, to bring 
home the last sheaves of grain. The workers and 




Fig. 72. Cutting wheat with a cradle. 



132 ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTURE 

pretty maidens danced along, merrily singing: 

"Harvest home, harvest home, 
We have plowed, we have sowed, 
We have reaped, we have mowed. 
We have brought home every load, 
Hip, hip, hip, harvest home." 

The Sickle. We have said that many years ago 
wheat was cut with a reap hook, or sickle, held in 
one hand (Fig. 69). A large part of the world's 
crop is still cut in that way among the peasants of 
Russia, China, and Japan. With a sickle a good 
worker can cut about an acre a day. 

The Scythe or Cradle. The Eomans thought they 
could cut more if they had a longer blade and used 
both hands, so they invented the scythe. This 
allowed the grain to fall over when it w^as cut and 
some clever man placed wooden fingers above the 
scythe to catch the grain and help to lay it straight 
for binding. This was called the cradle. It is still 
in use in many places in our country for cutting 
small patches of oats and wheat (Figs. 71 and 72). 

Animal Power. But the cradle used only hand 
power, and men needed horse power to save both 
time and money. The first machine to use animal 
power was a wheat-header used in France about the 
time of Christ. It was a two-wheeled cart, pushed 
by an ox yoked behind. On the front edge of the 
cart were sharp fingers, or teeth, like a big comb, to 
catcli the heads of wheat and pull them off and rake 
them into the cart. This machine later disappeared. 



WHEAT 133 

The Header. Hundreds of years later men began 
to make machines with the power in front. This 
method with horse power meant a side-cut. The 
wheat-header is a machine that cuts off the heads 
and throws them into a wagon that is driven along- 
side. It saves binding and shocking. Wheat must 
be dry before it is cut in this way, for the grain is 
either stacked or threshed at once without time for 
curing. If it be damp, green, or w^eedy, it will not 
thresh well and is liable to spoil in the stack. The 
header is .chiefly used in dry countries. The header 
of to-day cuts a strip twelve to twenty feet wide. 
In the state of Washington three headers and one 
threshing machine usually work together on the 
mammoth farms. In this way from fifty to seventy- 
five acres of wheat are harvested in one day. 

The Reaper. Another machine has been worked 
out to harvest the wheat where the header is not 
successful. A machine was developed that would 
cut and bunch the grain. This was called the reaper 
(Fig. 73). McCormick's machine was first used in 
the harvest of 1831. It was a rather crude affair, 
drawn by one horse, but it was a good beginning. 
It meant cheap bread for mankind, but the farmers 
at first refused to use the reaper. They laughed at 
it; they said it would not work on hillsides. But 
they sat on the fence and watched it. Then they 
shook their heads and went back to their old cradles. 
McCormick talked and urged the people to try it, 
but it was ten years after the machine proved itself 



134 



ELEMENTAEY AGKICULTUEE 



before a farmer was found who would buy one. The 
next year two reapers were sold, then fifty, then a 
thousand. The grain was raked from the platform 
of the machine by a man walking behind. It had to 
be bound and shocked by hand. Not long afterwards 
larger and better machines were made. It took 




The first reaper. 



much hard work to change the reaper into the 
modern binder (Fig. 74). 

The Self-binder. The machine in general use in 
our country to-day is the self-binder, which cuts, 
binds, and dumps the bundles in piles to be shocked 
by hand (Fig. 75). On some of the large grain 
farms there are as many as fifty self-binders, and 
these often cut six hundred acres of wheat in one 
day. To make a device that would bind the wheat 
was a hard task. Finally one was made that would 



WHEAT 



135 



do the work, but it bound the bundles with wire. 
Pieces of wire found their way into the throats of 
cattle, and farmers would not buy the binder. Some 
cheap binder twine must be found. Mr. William 
Deering spent much time and a great deal of money 
to get a twine that would knot easily and firmly. 




Tig. 74. The modern hinder drawn by a fraction engine. 

He finally found that Manila hemp would act just 
right, and this made the binder complete. Our 
binder twine is usually made of a mixture of Manila 
and sisal fiber. Millions and millions of pounds of 
binder twine are used every harvest. 

Combined Harvesters. The most complete ma- 
chine of all is the combined harvester, which is used 
chiefly on the bonanza farms on our Pacific coast, 
where there is nothing to fear from rainy weather. 
This machine cuts, binds, gathers, cleans, and bags 



136 



ELEMENTAKY AGRICULTURE 



the grain without a single tonch from human hands. 
On one side the wheat is cut, and on the other sacks 
of wheat are dropped in piles ready for the market. 
This machine is drawn by great teams of from 
twenty-four to forty horses and mules, and it har- 




Fi(i. 75. Sliocls of fjoldcn (jrain. 



It 



vests from thirty to forty acres of grain a day. 
requires only four men to operate it. 

Steam Harvesters. There are large combined har- 
vesters run by steam. They harvest from seventy- 
five to one hundred twenty-five acres a day. They 
are used only on very large farms, from three thou- 
sand to twenty thousand acres each. In the days 
of the old Romans it took four days and a half of 



WHEAT 137 

work to raise and harvest each bushel of wheat. 
When the reaper was invented it took three hours 
of labor for each bushel, and to-day it takes only 
ten minutes. This is what machinery has done for 
the farmers. 

How Much We Eat. It is said that, on the aver- 
age, every person in the United States eats about 
five bushels of wheat in a year. Five bushels of 
wheat make a barrel of flour, and a barrel of flour 
turned over to the baker makes about two hundred 
fifty loaves of bread. 

Other Uses of Wheat. Most of the American 
wheat is made into bread, but there is also a great 
amount used for breakfast foods. Some wheat is 
fed to stock, especially to poultry. Wheat, bran, 
and middlings in great quantities are bought at the 
mills and fed to cattle. Macaroni is made from 
wheat, and so is starch, which is used for paste or 
sizing. The straw is used for feeding and bedding 
cattle and for making straw hats and bonnets. 

A New Kind. Some man of knowledge has now 
developed from the wild wheat of Palestine a type 
of wheat that will grow in dry climates. If this 
new type is truly successful it will be a great bless- 
ing to mankind, for the people who want ''white 
bread" are increasing much faster than the world's 
crop. 



CHAPTER XVI 
THE FIELD OR IRISH POTATO 

The Potato's Early Home. The early home of the 
potato was in America. White men had never seen 
it until after the discovery of the continent by 
Columbus. The Indians of South America, from 
Chili to Colombia, were raising potatoes for food. 
How long they had been doing this we do not know. 
The Spanish explorers carried the potato to Europe, 
where it was first grown in Spain and Italy. 

The Potato in Ireland. Some years later, we are 
told. Sir Walter Raleigh was cultivating it on his 
farm in Ireland. He called it "Battata." The 
potato came to be raised as the principal article of 
food in Ireland; and when, in 1846, there came a 
total failure of the potato crop, caused by the blight, 
a terrible famine and great suffering followed. It 
drove thousands of Ireland's best thinkers and 
workers to America. 

A Widely-grown Crop. Potatoes are a more im- 
portant crop in Europe than in America, and it is a 
staple product in many lands besides our own. Next 
to rice, it is probably the most widely-grown crop 
in the world. 

Not a Root, But a Tuber. The part of the potato 
that we eat is an underground stem which is called 
a tuber. It is not a root, like the sweet potato or 

138 



THE FIELD OR lEISII POTATO 



139 



radish, for there are no rootlets growing npon the 
white potato. All the roots are found extending 
out from the stems. 




Triumph. 6. Peerless. 

Courtesy of Agricultural Experiment Station, Wisconsin 

Fig. 76. Standard varieties of potatoes. Early varieties, 1, 2, and 3. 
Late varieties, 4, 5, and 6. 

The Kinds of Seed. The potato can be raised both 
from the seeds which grow in the seed ball at the 



140 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

end of the stalk and from the tubers. The farmer 
always plants tubers, because they produce other 
tubers just like themselves. The potatoes growD 
from the seed do not always come true to the 
variety. 

The Potato Eye. Each eye of the potato will grow 
a new plant if a piece of potato is left on it large 
enough to feed the young plant until it can put out 
strong roots. When potatoes are allowed to sprout 
in the cellar they use up some of their plant food so 
they shrivel. These potatoes should not be used 
for ijlanting. 

Cutting the Seed. Irish potatoes are usually cut 
into two or more pieces for planting. Some careful 
farmers cut two eyes to each piece; others claim it 
pays to use more seed and take a half potato for 
each hill. The seed is best cut a short time before 
it is put into the ground. One experiment station 
found an increase of fifty-fouc^ushels per acre by 
placing the potatoes in a well-lighted room with a 
comfortable temperature for several weeks before 
planting. 

How to Choose Seed Potatoes. Our plants grow 
from the bud in the eye of the potato, and so we 
should know just what kind of a plant the seed 
potato grew on. We must see to it that we choose 
seed taken from vines that are good producers. 
Some vines have twice as many potatoes as others. 
Therefore, we select our seed potatoes, as we do 
corn, not from the bin, but from the potato field, as 



THE FIELD OE lEISH POTATO 



141 



they are dug. It matters not if the seed potato be 
large or small if it came from a hill bearing a large 




Courter-.y of U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

Fig. 77. Colorado potato beetle at work on the plant: a, beetle; b, 
egg masses; c, half-grown larvae; d, mature larvae. 

yield of fine potatoes. By careful selection, year 
after year, a farmer can greatly improve his variety 



142 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

and produce larger crops on the same space of 
ground (Fig. 76). 

Climate and Soil. For the best crop one needs a 
deep, fertile soil with jjlenty of moisture, but not too 
wet. A cool climate is most suitable. The seed-eyes 
are planted from two to live inches deep, and the 
most successful growers do not hill up the plants 
until late in the season. Moisture is held better if 
the ground is kept level. 

Cultivating the Crop. A few days after planting 
a harrow or w^eeder is run over the field to destroy 
all weeds as soon as tlie}^ are started. This weeder 
is used once a week until the plants are six or eight 
inches high. Then the fields are cultivated between 
the rows about every ten days. 

Insect Enemies. One of the first enemies the plant 
meets after it appears through the surface is the 
flea beetle that gnaws small holes in the leaves. 
They may be checked by si)raying with the Bor- 
deaux mixture or with Paris green. This remedy 
will also stop the ravages of the potato beetle, or 
Colorado bug (Fig. 77). Potatoes are commonly 
sprayed about five times, beginning when the plants 
are about six inches high and repeating the opera- 
tion every ten days. 

The Potato Scab. Another enemy of the potato 
is the scab, which is a very tiny plant growing on 
the surface of the tuber. Scabby potatoes do not 
bring good prices. If seed potatoes are given a 
bath in a solution of formalin for about two hours 



THE FIELD OR lEISH POTATO 



143 



before they are planted, the formalin will kill the 
scab growth without injuring the potatoes. One- 
half pint of formalin to fifteen gallons of water 
makes a proper solution, which will do for several 
bushels of potatoes, as it can be used over and over 
again. 

The Blight. Another disease for the potato farmer 
to guard against is the blight. This is a tiny plant 




EiG. 78. 



Courtesy of Agricultural Experiment Station, Wisconsin 
A field of potatoes yielding 350 bushels per acre. 



or fungus growth which attacks the plant above 
ground. The blight sometimes destroys a crop com- 
pletely. Spraying is the remedy for this enemy, 
also. 

Harvesting. Early varieties of the potato are dug 
as soon as they are big enough for market. Late 
potatoes are left in the ground until the vines are 



144 ELEMENTARY AGRIGULTUEE 

dead. They should be gathered when the ground 
is dry and placed in a dark, cool place. Potatoes 
stored in the cellar should always be covered to 
feep the light from burning them. In some regions 
farmers raise from three hundred to five hundred 
bushels per acre (Fig. 78). 

'-'Potato Machinery. In order to grow potatoes 
profitably, one must plant a good many acres to 
afford the machines needed. A potato planter, a 
sprayer, and a digger are needed, and the wear on 
these tools amounts to thirty or forty dollars a year. 
Uses of Potatoes. Potatoes are used mostly for 
human food, but they make good rations for stock, 
either raw or cooked. Alcohol and starch are made 
from potatoes. 



CHAPTER XVII 
THE SWEET POTATO 

The Sweet Potato a Root. The sweet potato is not 
related to the Irish potato. It is not a tuber, but a 
true root grown large. Instead of eyes it has small 
rootlets running out from it. The sweet potato has 
blossoms very like the flowers of the morning glory, 
and it belongs to the same family of plants. 

Its Home. The sweet potato seems to have first 
come from the warm regions of America. It is now 
raised principally in the Southern states and upon 
islands in the Pacific Ocean. 

Climate and Soil. Four months of mild weather 
without cold winds or frost are needed to grow 
sweet potatoes. They will thrive in almost any 
loose, well-drained soil, if the climate is warm. A 
light sandy loam gives a cleaner potato, and these 
are the best sellers. 

Planting. For a new crop, all of the sweet potato 
may be planted. They are usually started in a hot- 
bed, and sprouts or young plants are transplanted, 
or taken up and set out again, in the field in rows 
about three feet apart. 

Cultivation. It makes very little difference what 
crop has just been taken off the field that is to be 
put to sweet potatoes, but it is unwise to have them 
follow sod, because sod ground contains many cut 

145 



146 ELEMENTAEY AGKICULTUEE 

worms that harm this plant. It is not necessary to 
plow deeply, but all weeds must be kept down by 
good cultivation until the potato vines cover the 
ground. 

Harvesting. The sweet potato, like the apple, is 
easily damaged by bruising. Extreme care must 
be used in handling them. All bruised potatoes 
should be laid aside for immediate use. Those 
intended for the market may be graded — that is, 
the large ones should be separated from the small 
ones. Time spent in grading and packing is worth 
while, for this care brings better prices. 

Storing the Crop. Sweet potatoes are hard to 
store, because they rot so easily. They should be 
partly dried and cleaned and then placed in a dry, 
warm bin. If all bruised ones and those that are 
beginning to rot are removed from the bin, they will 
keep for some time. 

Uses of the Plant. Sweet potato vines make a 
very good hay that is sometimes used as ensilage for 
filling silos. Potatoes too small to sell may be fed 
to stock, for they are rich in sugar and starch. 
Sweet potatoes are largely used on the table, but 
some are dried and ground into flour and some made 
into starch, glucose, and alcohol. 

There are eighty different varieties of sweet pota- 
toes. The kinds that are dry and mealy are pre- 
ferred in the North, while the juicy, sugary varieties 
are most popular in the South. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
COTTON 

The Home of Cotton. Our great-grandmothers 
grew cotton in their front dooryards as a flowering 
plant. It is supposed to be a native of India. But 
Columbus found some kinds growing here when he 
came to America. Now it is one of the important 
crops of the Southern farmer. 

Climate. Cotton is a warm-weather plant and 
needs a rather long growing season. Warm, moist 
nights Avith the weather becoming warmer is best 
for the growing plant; while later, when the fruit 
is setting and ripening, dry Aveather with occasional 
showers is better. Too much rain when the fruit 
is ripening causes the stalk to grow too large, and 
the bolls are then late in ripening. 

The Best Soil. Cotton grows best on a clay loam 
or sandy loam soil that is well drained. On bottom 
land which overflows stalks sometimes grow so large 
and become so tough that they have to be cut down 
with axes before the land can be cleared and plowed 
for another crop. Good cotton land must hold 
moisture well. There should be much humus in it 
and a good dust mulch on top. It is well to plant 
peanuts or some bush variety of cowpeas between 
the cotton rows and plow them under with the cotton 
stalks after the cotton has been picked. This will 

147 



148 ELEMENTAEY AGKICULTUEE 

help to maintain the humus. But clover grows well 
in winter in the Southern states, and it can be used 
to follow the cotton. It is plowed under the follow- 
ing spring. 

Preparing the Soil. Early fall plowing is best 
where one cotton crop is to follow another. In this 
way the cotton stalks and the weeds are plowed 
under. This enriches the soil and kills the boll 
weevil and other insects. Where the stalks grow 
large, it may be best to clear the stalks from the 
land and burn them. But usually they should be cut 
and turned under with the plow. On many planta- 
tions cotton is grown on the same land year after 
3^ear. In such cases it is usually necessary to fer- 
tilize the soil. When the seed of the cotton plant 
is used on the same farm for feed and only the lint 
is sold, the stock that is fed on cotton seed helps 
to furnish fertilizer in the form of manure. This 
should be saved and put back on the land. But in 
the far South cattle are not kept in stables, but in 
the open pastures, and it is, therefore, difficult to 
save the manure for the .cotton fields. 

Keeping the Soil Rich. Experiment stations have 
tested and decided that cowpeas, peanuts, and clover 
and alfalfa may be grown in a three-year rotation 
with corn and cotton. This will keep up the nitro- 
gen in the soil. Some have found that potash and 
acid potash make good fertilizer for many fields. 

Deep Plowing. Planting begins in the early 
spring, as soon as the frost is over. In Texas this 



COTTON 149 

is in March, in North Carolina not till May. The 
cotton plant has a tap-root that reaches as deeply 
into the ground as the loose soil will permit. So if 
the ground is not loose, deep plowing is worth while 
to give the roots moisture and air. Harrowing till 
the ground is fine destroys many weeds and makes 
a dust mulch that saves moisture for the growing 
plants. 

Putting in the Seed. On many fields it is best to 
plant the seed on beds or ridges thrown up about 
four feet apart. On dry soils the ground should be 
kept level. It has been found that four feet is the 
correct distance between rows, and the plants grow 
best from twelve to eighteen inches apart. This will 
leave room for the bushy top that comes later. Early 
planting is very necessary wherever cotton is raised 
and plenty of seed to make sure of a good stand. 
Not less than thirty pounds per acre should be 
planted. As soon as the plants are well started and 
all danger from frosts is past, the plants are thinned 
with the hoe till they are the correct distance apart. 
In the olden days a negro plowed the ground with 
a plow and mule, dropped in the seed, and covered 
it by hand. Good farm machinery now makes plant- 
ing easier.. On some of the plantations to-day all 
the work is done by one machine which opens the 
furrow, drops in the seed and fertilizer, and covers 
it all in one trip. Most of the work is done by the 
hands of colored laborers. 

Cultivation. The cotton field should be cultivated 



150 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



frequently, but not too deep, until the plants begin 
to mature bolls (Fig. 79). Even after the bolls 

appear it is 
well to kee]) 
a crust from 
forming on 
the ground. 
But if the 
land was well 
prepared be- 
fore the crop 
was planted, 
it can be laid 
by, because 
the early till- 
ing served to 
lay up suffi- 
cient mois- 
ture and to 
prepare plen- 
ty of plant 
food to ma- 
ture the boll. 
Ready to Pick. Eight or ten weeks after plant- 
ing the cotton is in flower (Fig. 80). The cream- 
white blossoms soon turn to a pinkish or reddish 
color and drop off. The seed pods which form are 
the size of an English walnut. When these are ripe 
they burst open like milkweed pods, and the cotton 
is ready for picking (Fig. 81). 




coiion hoU (oid leaf. 



COTTON 



151 



Harvesting. Texas planters begin to pick cotton 
about the middle of July. More .northern states har- 
vest from four to six weeks later. No machine has 
been invented that can do this work well, so the 
picking is done by hand. The work is hard and tire- 
some. Many negroes are used, because they stand the 
heat better. They are paid from thirty to fifty cents 
a hundred pounds. Since cotton does not ripen all 
at once, a field has to be picked many times before 
the frost destroys what is left. If all is left standing 
to be picked at the same time, it is apt to be injured 
by dust and rains. Cotton may be picked as late as 
December in the warmer region about the gulf. 
Eli Whitney. 
The wliite 
thread of the 
cotton boll is 
filled with 
small dark 
seeds nearly 
twice the size 
of an apple 
seed. When 
these were 
picked out 
by hand a 
workman 
.cleaned 
about a 

pound a day. pjg, gg. ^ -blossom of the cotton plant. 




152 ELEMENTAEY AGKICULTUEE 

Eli Whitney was a graduate of Yale College who 
went South to spend the winter. One dark night at 
a social gathering he heard the Southern planters 
talking about what a drawback the taking out of 
the seeds was to cotton raising. This was the first 
time Whitney had ever seen cotton or cottonseed, 
but he began to work on a machine for the purpose 
of separating them. 

The Cotton Gin. Whitney's new machine was a 
wooden cylinder on which were fastened hooks ar- 
ranged like the teeth of a saw. When the cylinder 
was turned these hooks passed between the wires of 
an upright frame and pulled the fiber of the cotton 
through, while the seeds fell to the ground on the 
other side. Improvements were soon made on this 
machine. Now the cotton fiber is pulled from the 
teeth and blown into the press room free from dust 
and seed. 

Baling Cotton for Market. Here in the press room 
it is baled in hard, round bales of about five hundred 
pounds for market. The cotton is pressed very 
close to save shipping and to prevent it from easily 
catching fire. One-half of our raw cotton is shipped 
to European countries where they make muslins and 
finer materials than are made in the United States. 

Use of Seeds. From every pound of lint about two 
pounds of seeds are removed. In the cottonseed mill 
the seeds are crushed, and the oil which is pressed 
out is sold in large quantities for various purposes. 
It is often used instead of lard or mixed with it. 



COTTON 



153 



One-third of the oil is bought by packing houses and 
used in this way to make laid. It is also used in 
the manufacture of butterine and in place of olive 
oil. Fish are packed in it. The poor product, that 
cannot be put to better use, is made into soap. 
Oil Meal. After the oil is crushed out, the rest 







St^'^y-^- 



Courtesy of Hilliard Land Company, Florida 
Fig. 81. A cotton field ready for piclcers. 

of the seed is ground into meal which is used instead 
of corn to feed to cattle. In this way the Southern 
farmer feeds his cattle from his own produce, in- 
stead of buying grain. It is said that the meal from 
a bushel of cottonseed has as much food value as a 
bushel of corn. When the corn crop fails in the 
West, farmers import cottonseed. It is also valuable 



154 ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 

for fertilizer. Two tons and a lialf of cottonseed 
hulls equal a cord of wood for fuel. Such fuel is 
used in Southern factories. The ashes are then 
used for fertilizer in raising tobacco. 

Two Kinds Most Raised. Sea-island cotton is so 
called because it requires the salt sea air to thrive. 
It is the best cotton in the world, because its fiber is 
longer, stronger, and finer than the upland variety. 
It has black seeds, while the upland cotton has green 
ones. The upland cotton is raised in the states away 
from the gulf and is largely manufactured in our 
cotton mills. 

Cotton-boll Weevil. The cotton-boll weevil at- 
tacks the buds and the seed pods of the cotton plant. 
It is a small gray beetle about a quarter of an inch 
long (Fig. 43). It spreads very rapidly and often 
destroys entire crops. The loss in Texas alone has 
been millions of dollars. The United States Govern- 
ment has spent a great deal of money fighting the 
boll weevil, besides what has been spent by the cot- 
ton states. It will feed and breed only in the cotton 
plant, but it lives through the cold season under the 
moss of trees and under rubbish. 

Fighting the Weevil. Clean farming methods and 
early harvesting have been the ways recommended 
to fight the weevil. If the .cotton is all harvested 
and the plants are destroyed by the middle of Octo- 
ber, the weevil will die of starvation. Where this 
has been done, it was found that only three weevils 
out of a hundred lived through the winter. Cotton 



COTTON 155 

stalks may be removed most effectively by uproot- 
ing, piling, and burning. Some cut them down with 
a stalk chopper, then plow deeply and harrow the 
field. Others turn in enough cattle to eat the green 
cotton in a few days. In addition to destroying 
cotton plants, all kinds of rubbish along ditches, 
fences, and field borders should be cleaned up so 
the weevil may have no winter shelter. 

To Hasten the Crop. The use of fertilizer hastens 
the ripening of the cotton and makes it possible to 
harvest it in time to starve out the weevil. A failure 
of the cotton crop is a serious thing, because there is 
nothing to take its place. The Cotton Belt of the 
United States extends from the Carolinas to Texas 
and Oklahoma. Three-fourths of the cotton of the 
world is raised in this belt, and about ten million 
bales are yearly sent to Europe and the manufactur- 
ing parts of the United States. 



CHAPTER XIX 
THE HAY CROP 

Timothy. One of the chief hay crops of America 
is timothy. It is grown chiefly in the northern part 
of onr country east of the Rockies. Timothy is poii- 
ular with farmers, because the seed is cheap and 
because it will produce a good hay crop the first 
year after it is planted (Fig. 82). It is easy to kill 
it by plowing, Timothy fits well into a system of 
rotation with other crops. It needs a good soil and 
plenty of rainfall. It is not only an excellent hay 
crop, but it is used in nearly all lands intended for 
pastures. After a few years other pasture grasses 
take its place. 

The Clovers. Another hay crop is red clover. 
This plant, like so many others, came to us from 
Europe. It has been grown for many hundred 
years. Farmers have known for a long time that 
clover seemed to make the land richer, but they did 
not understand why this was so. We now know 
that clovers and their kin, such as alfalfa, cowpeas, 
and soy beans, enrich the soil through the work of 
the bacteria on their roots. We have learned that 
the bacteria take nitrogen from the air and store it 
in little swellings on the roots of these plants. When 
the sod is plowed for other crops, the nitrogen helps 
to produce much better yields (Fig. 53), These 

156 



THE HAY CEOP 



157 



clover-like plants are called legumes. They are valu- 
able because of the hay and pasture they yield and 
because they help us to build up the land on which 
they grow, with plant food. Most crops leave the 
land poorer, but legumes leave it richer, at least in 
nitrogen. 

Kind of Soil for Clover. Red clover requires a 
good soil. Many farms are too poor to grow it. The 




Fig. S2. Timollii/ hay. 

land should be well drained, because the roots will 
reach down five or six feet if the land is not swampy. 
Sometimes a sprinkling of lime to sweeten the soil 
will help a clover crop to thrive. This is true of 
some sections of eastern Ohio, southern Indiana, and 
Illinois. 

Ready to Cut. Clover is usually sown in the 
spring on the winter wheat crop. It lives about two 
years. Clover grows two crops a year. The second 



158 



ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 



crop is often cut for seed. In order to obtain the 
best hay, clover should be harvested just after it has 



1 




1 


1 








I^U 


S 


ip 




i^ 


<tw^l' 


- .- 






^ 




w 


5 "* 


'■-^^ 


i 




^ 


F^ 


^^ 


wm 


£.^i'^ 




' '-.?'fe4\. 




^, 



Fig. S3. ^ /i«/id dump rake. 

come to full bloom. Hay cut later is not so good. 

Careful Handling. In harvesting the clover crop, 
it should reach the barn or stack with the least 
handling and exposure. If it is allowed to become 
too dry in handling, the leaves will crumble and 
fall off, and they are the best part of the hay. 

Curing Clover Hay. Clover hay should be well 
cured in the sun, or it will heat and spoil in the 
stack or mow. Some farmers cut it in the afternoon, 
and after the dew is off the next morning it is 
tedded, raked, and put in the cock before night 
(Figs. 83, 84, 85, and 86). 

Uses of Clover. Eed clover is used for hay and 
for pasture. It is often used as a green-manure crop 
to be plowed under if the ground is poor in humus. 
Even where it is cut for hay, the stubble and roots 



THE HAY CEOP 



159 



turned with tlie plow show gains in the crops that 
follow, because of the extra amount of nitrogen left 
behind. Clover makes an ideal hay for cattle, and 
where it is raised, it should make up a half or more 
of the roughage of milch cows. Sheep and young 
stock make excellent growth on clover hay or the 
clover pasture. 

Getting a Stand. Where the soil has been worn 
out by many crops being taken off and no plant food 
or humus put back, red clover will not often grow. 
In order to bring such land up, a heavy coat of barn- 
yard manure will help to give clover a start. Another 
way to get a set of red clover on poor land is to 




Fig. 84. A self -dump hay rale. 

spread straw over the w^heat or rye ground that 
has been seeded to clover. This is done in early 
spring, before the clover seed has begun to sprout. 



160 



ELEMENTAKY AGEICULTUEE 



Alsike Clover. Still another way to get one's 
poor fields seeded to red clover is to first sow Alsike 
clover. Tliis will grow on soils that are too wet or 
too dry or too poor for red clover. Alsike is hardier 
and less likely to be attacked by disease. 

Alfalfa. Another clover-like plant that is coming 
to be even more important than clover is alfalfa 






Flu. 85. Hay loader. 

(Fig. 87). It was brought to America in the early 
days by the Spaniards, but only in recent years has 
it l3ecome a widely grown crop in the United States. 
Like clover, it is a legume whose roots are homes 
for bacteria. Thus it both brings the farmer fine 
hay and pasture, and it enriches his fields at the 
same time. Alfalfa has for years been a leading 
crop in the West. It is now being introduced widely 
in the great Corn Belt. It is a fine feed for milch 



THE HAY CEOP 



161 



COWS and for fattening hogs, lambs, and cattle. 
The Soil and Crops. Alfalfa has a long tap-root 
which reaches down deeper than any other farm 
crop, often being twelve feet long (Fig. 88). Thus, 
yon see, alfalfa needs a well-drained soil. It thrives 
wonderfully in dry regions. It continues to grow 
throughout the warm season. In Canada they cut 




Fig. 86. Horse power is cheaper iliaii human labor. 

three crops of it in one season, while in Arizona 
eight cuttings are often harvested. 

How to Start Alfalfa. Alfalfa is not a successful 
crop on poor land. If the land is not rich enough, a 
heavy coat of manure may be necessary. In many 
places east of the Mississippi Eiver lime is needed to 
give alfalfa a start. About twenty-five pounds of 
seed are sown to the acre in the East, but much less 
is uj-ed in tlie West. It is best to sow alfalfa in the 
late summer or early fall. It is sometimes seeded 



162 



ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 



with grain in the spring. The field should be mellow 
and fine as a seed bed, for alfalfa is not a strong 
plant until it gets a good start. Weeds will injure 
it, so it is well to sow seed that is free from weed 
seeds. Alfalfa may be grown on the same field for 
a longer time without change than most crops, but 
it should be plowed in at intervals of from five to 
seven years and some other crop sown. 

Good for Horses. There is no one thing so good 
as alfalfa for the working horse. It builds up his 
worn-out muscles and keeps him strong and healthy. 
He needs much less grain when he can have alfalfa 
hay. It ought to be free from dust, but it does not 




Courtesy of Santa Fe R. R. 

Fig. 87. A field of alfalfa — six crops to the season. 

gather dust so easilj"' as ,clover. It is not safe to 
feed too much to horses. 

Alfalfa for Other Stock. Milch cows thrive on 
alfalfa, and nothing better is grown for calves, 



THE HAY CROP 



163 



sheep, and Logs. Alfalfa and corn fed together 

make a finely balanced food for stock, because the 

food element that is lacking in 

corn is found in alfalfa; and 

what alfalfa lacks, corn will 

supply. Not only is alfalfa the 

best forage food for stock, but it 

will do more even than clover to 

build up the soil. Its roots go 

down very deep, and thus it 

gets food where no other farm 

crop can. 

The Cowpea. The cowpea is 
another legume and is a cousin 
to the clover and alfalfa. It has 
come to be an important hay 
crop in our Southern states, for 
it likes warm climates. It will 
grow on almost any kind of soil 
that is not too wet. Like clover, 
the cowpea will make good hay 
or green feed, and it enriches 
the soil. 

The cowpea is an annual plant 
and resembles the bean. Some 
varieties are bush-like while 
others are trailing. As it is difficult to cure without 
losing the leaves, it is sometimes grown with German 
millet to help save the leaves and to assist in speedy 
curing. 






Courtesy Santa Fe R. R. 

Fig. 88. Alfalfa plant 
shoioing long tap- 
root. 



CHAPTER XX 
ORCHARDS 

Helping One Another. Fruit trees of some kind 
will thrive in any section of our country, so every 
farm should have its own fruit. Some farmers 
make fruit-raising their chief business, while others 
have only a small orchard for family use. If the 
raising of fruit is the principal object of the farmer, 
he should locate where many other farmers are do- 
ing the same thing, so that they may form companies 
to help one another in many ways, especially in 
obtaining good jnices for their croj^s. 

Keep Near Market or Railroad. It is well not to 
go too far from the railroad to raise fruit. When 
peaches are to be handled, they should not be hauled 
more than three miles. Strawberries must also be 
marketed soon after they are picked and with as 
little cartage as possible. Apples are more firm and 
will endure more handling, but the expense of a long 
haul reduces the profits. 

Hill Lands for Orchards. It is usually better for 
orchards to be upon land higher than the rest of the 
farm. The cold air is heavier and settles into the 
valleys and lowlands, so the hill orchards are not 
so likely to be caught by late spring frosts. 

The Best Slope. The north and east slopes of 
hills are preferred for apple orchards, because they 

164 



ORCHARDS 165 

are slower in warming np in the spring. This keeps 
the blossoms from coming out too soon and being 
injured by late frosts. Trees set on southern slopes 
receive more sunshine, and their fruit is more highly 
colored. But southern slopes are usually drier than 
northern slopes, and thus the fruit does not grow so 
large. 

The Influence of Water. Land sloping toward a 
river or a large body of water is good fruit land, 
because the water keeps the air from too sudden 
changes. The fruit should be on the slope that re- 
ceives the wind after it has crossed the water. Air 
near water is kept from getting suddenly colder 
and there is less likelihood of frosts. (Fig. 89.) 

Kinds of Soil for Fruits. For apple, pear, and 
plum trees a farmer should choose a deep, moist, 
clay loam. A sandy loam is better for peaches and 
cherries. 

Preparation of Fruit Land. The soil should be 
prepared as carefully for a fruit orchard as for corn. 
It is plowed deep for planting the trees, so the roots 
may reach out far and wide for food. The surface 
should be harrowed to a dust mulch. If the field 
is wet and swampy, it must be drained. 

Planting Trees. The trees may be planted either 
in the spring or fall. If the soil is in good shape, 
fall planting is better, because the trees get a start 
before winter. To make tillage easy the rows should 
be straight. Apple trees are commonly planted forty 
feet apart each way, but sometimes they are planted 



166 



ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 



closer. Pears are set about twenty-five feet apart 
and peaches and plums each twenty feet. There 
should always be room enough between the trees so 

spraying may 
be easily done 
and the crop 
harvested con- 
veniently. 
Setting Trees. 
When a tree 
is taken from 
the ground 
the more roots 
that are saved 
the better. But 
with the best 
of care many 
of them are broken or bruised, and others must be 
cut. All the broken roots should be cut back from 
the injured end with a sharp knife, so the smooth 
wound will heal quickly. Since the tree has lost 
many of the rootlets that supply it with food, the 
branches must be cut back, too, else they will need 
more food and moisture than the roots can supply. 
People usually leave too much of the top on a tree 
that is transplanted. The trees should not be ex- 
posed to the sun and wind before planting, and the 
planter should not allow the roots to dry out. If the 
roots are covered with a coat of clay, it is well to dip 
them in water before setting them. 




Fig. 89. liriguting an orchard. 



OECHARDS 



167 



Packing About the Roots. The holes dug for the 
trees should be a little larger than the roots seem 
to need, so that they ,can be placed straight. Since 
the roots feed the tree, it is very important to pack 
the soil well about them, so they can get plenty of 
liquid food from it. The upper roots should be 
raised until the soil is packed firmly under them. 
Roots should never be crowded together, but spread 
out naturally to grow 
as they will. In the 
bottom of the hole 
the soil must be 
packed very tight, 
but the top four 
inches should be loose 
for a dust mulch. A 
common mistake is to 
pack the soil tightly 
on top and leave it 
loose underneath. 
This brings the mois- 
ture to the surface 
and causes the young 
trees to die of thirst. 

Tilling the Orchard. 
The old idea that or- 




FiG. 90. A crop between rows. 



chard s would take care of themselves after planting 
is a thing of the past. Now the successful fruit grow- 
ers till their orchards as regularly as they do their 
crops. Trees make nearly all their growth early in 



168 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 

the year, before the hot months of midsummer, so 
it is during the spring months that they need plenty 
of food and moisture. Then is the time to cultivate 
the orchards. More than nine-tenths of the fruit is 
water, and we know that tillage is very helpful in 
saving moisture. The drier the season, the more 
the harrow and cultivator are needed. After July, 
when the growing i3eriod is over, a crop may be 
sown on the orchard to be plowed under later as 
green manure (Fig. 90). 

Injury to Trees. In tilling orchards, care must be 
taken not to injure the trees. The grass and weeds 
that grow close to the trunk of the tree do very 
little harm, and they had better be let alone, rather 
than run the risk of injuring the tender bark of tlie 
young tree. 

Pruning. If young trees are well pruned when 
they are set out, they will need very little more 
trimming until they begin to bear. Shoots that 
cross each other and interfere with other branches 
should be removed. When branches are likely to 
become too crowded, the knife should be used. Many 
fruit growers change the shape of their trees to 
their fancy by pruning. They cut the tops back so 
the trees will spread out instead of growing tall, for 
it is difficult to spray a tall tree, and the fruit is 
harder to gather. 

Spraying Fruit Trees. All fruit trees have ene- 
mies which the farmer must fight. More than 
twenty-five years ago a man who was employed by 



OECHARDS 169 

the state of Illinois to study plants, discovered that 
Paris green would kill the potato beetle. He said 
that he believed the same poison would stop the 
cankerworm from injuring the apple crops. For a 
good many years farmers doubted and shook their 
heads; but here and there a man began to spray 
with Paris Green to protect the crops, and they 
found it worked well. Fewer apples were found 
wormy in orchards that had been sprayed. (Figs. 
38 and 39.) This was only the beginning of an in- 
telligent fight to protect crops and trees from in- 
sects. Many discoveries have been made since, and 
now the best farmers everywhere are spraying with 
different mixtures to save their trees and fruits, 
their gardens and other crops. In the West, where 
the finest of fruit is raised, state laws have been 
passed, commanding every orchardist to spray his 
trees whether he finds them troubled with insects 
or not. This is to make sure he will not grow mil- 
lions of insects to attack the orchards and crop of 
some neighboring fruit grower who is careful in 
spraying. 

Bordeaux Mixture. Besides the insects which in- 
jure our trees, there are tiny robber plants, or fungi, 
like mildew and the brownrot, that attack peaches 
and other stone fruits, sometimes even apples and 
pears. In France, where many grapes are raised to 
make wine, the grape farmers near Bordeaux found 
that their vines were being injured by mildew. So 
they set very earnestly to work to find a check for 



170 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 

this enemy. After much experimenting, they dis- 
covered a poison spray now called the Bordeaux 
mixture. It is used all over the world to-day to 
kill the fungi that are injuring gardens and orchards. 

Spraying Machines. A farmer who has not more 
than five acres in his orchard can use a spraying- 
machine worked by hand. There are many kinds of 
good spraying outfits. (Fig. 91.) It is chiefly im- 
portant to be sure that the liquid is well stirred by 
some means, so that the poisons will not settle to 
the bottom of the barrel instead of reaching the 
tree. The best fruit growers spray their trees regu- 
larly. (Fig. 92.) Peaches and prunes are usually 
not sprayed unless they are attacked by the scale. 
In many places apples are sprayed three times — 
once just before the blossoms open, again just before 
the blossoms fall, and a third time about ten or 
twelve days later. The mixture used is three or 
four pounds of copper sulphate, five pounds of lime, 
and a half pound of Paris green in fifty gallons of 
Avater. 

Thinning Fruit. Some fruit growers are now 
urging the thinning of the fruit crop. A part of 
the fruit on heavily-loaded trees is taken otf before 
it is half grown, so that which is left may grow to 
a larger size. Though it costs a good deal to thin, 
the growers argue that it costs no more to pick the 
fruit when small than when it is full grown; and 
the fruit that is left to ripen is so much larger and 
brings so much better prices that it is well worth 



ORCHARDS 



171 



wliile. In "Western regions tlie trees bear such lieavy 
loads that the branches break unless some of the 
fruit is removed. When the crop is light there is 
no need of thinning. Apples usually grow in clus- 
ters from three to a half dozen in a bunch. If one 




Pig. 91. A good spraying outfit for the orchard. 

is growing fancy fruit he should remove all but 
the best apple of each cluster. Pears grow like 
apples and may be thinned in the same way. In 
thinning stone fruits, the work may be done by 
pulling the fruit off; but with apples and pears it 



172 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 

is safest to clip them with sharp-pointed shears, be- 
cause pulling is apt to break the branch. A fruit 
tree that has been properly pruned and the crop 
thinned, will not need props to keep it from break- 
ing down; and it is more likely to bear a good crop 
every year. 

Harvesting Fruit. A farmer who grows fruit for 
market must pick it carefully to prevent bruising. 
In order to make the fruit attractive to the buyer, 
the growler grades his apples, that is, he sorts out 
those of the same size and packs them together. 
Boxes are being used for packing, though many 
still prefer barrels for apples. Neat and caieful 
packing helps to secure good prices for the fruit 
crop. 

Peaches. Though many peaches are raised in 
California, the greater part of them come from the 
Eastern states. A mildly temperate climate favors 
this fruit. They must be packed quickly and closely 
and sent by fast freight when shipped. Packers get 
two cents a basket, and an expert packer can fill a 
hundred baskets in a day. 

Apples. Of all the many fruits grown in our 
country, the apple is the most important. More 
than forty million barrels are used every year, or 
about a half barrel for every man, woman, and child 
in the United States. There are fewer difficulties 
to meet in raising apples than any other fruit. The 
tree is hardy and is not easily injured. There are 
many varieties of apples that keep well through 



ORCHARDS 



173 



the winter. All kinds are firm and can be handled 
and marketed with less ,care and trouble than other 
fruits. Apples may be put to many uses. They are 
eaten raw or they may be cooked in a variety of 
ways. Some are dried or made into jelly, and in 
this form they may be kept for a long time. 

Seedless Apples. Since we have varieties of seed- 
less oranges, men have been trying to devGlo]^ an 




Fk;. 91'. The successful orchardist alwaj/s sprays. 

apple without a core. When this kind takes the 
place of those we now use it will be a splendid thing 
for us all, because there are certain insects that 
live in the core of the apple and there is so much 
waste in removing it. Some day seedless apples will 
be a very common thing. 



CHAPTER XXI 
SUGARS AND OTHER CROPS 

Where We Get Our Sweets. Each person in the 
United States eats, on an average, more than sev- 
enty pounds of sugar in a year. Sugar is made from 
the sugar cane, the sugar beet, and the sap of maple 
trees. 

Sugar Cane. Sugar cane may be grown in the 
Southern states wherever cotton is found. It very 
much resembles corn in appearance. Cultivated 
cane never produces seed, so the new crop must be 
grown from cuttings of the stalk. It takes a ninth 
part of the old crop to plant the field for a new one. 
The seed cane is usually stored on the land in the 
fall and covered with a layer of leaves and a thin 
layer of earth to protect it from the frost. In the 
spring it is uncovered or ''hooked up" with long 
hoes and cut into pieces two feet long. 

Planting. The land is plowed and thrown into 
ridges eight feet apart, and the seed stalks are laid 
end to end in double rows in a trench on top of 
the ridges. An extra piece of cane is put near each 
joint so the sprouts will be regular. Cane should 
send up a sprout at every joint. Covering is done 
with a hoe or a machine. A machine covers ten 
acres in a day. The first crop is known as plant 
,cane. The next year it will spring up from the same 

174 



SUGARS AND OTHER CROPS 175 

roots, or it may be planted again. A good crop 
will come from the stubble even the third year. The 
land is then plowed and sowed to cowpeas. The 
fourth year a new crop of cane may be raised on 
the land where the cowpeas have been plowed under. 
Cane sometimes grows fifteen feet high. 

Harvesting. Harvesting begins in October. The 
sugar forms most rapidly then, but the crop must 
be Cut before the frosts injure it. Colored workmen 
using a long knife go through the fields cutting the 
stalks very close to the ground, for the lower ends 
yield the most sugar. The leaves and tops are 
trimmed oif, and the stalks are laid in piles. At 
the factory the stalks are cut and shredded into 
small pieces, and the juice is crushed out between 
heavy rollers. This juice is put into large tanks 
with milk of lime to be made clear. Then it is made 
into syrup, and the molasses is separated from the 
sugar, which is then dried into large crystals and 
refined into our white sugar. 

Sugar Beet. It is impossible to tell by taste 
whether the refined sugar is made from cane or 
from sugar beets, but the raw beet sugar has a dis- 
agreeable odor and taste. Beet sugar was not dis- 
covered by accident. It was made after years of 
experimenting. More than two hundred years ago 
a German druggist first found sugar in beets, and 
sugar being at that time a dollar a pound. Napoleon 
offered a prize to any one who could make sugar 
from beets. The art was soon discovered, but it is 



176 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



only within a short time that beet sugar has been 
made in the United States. The soil and climate of 
the greater part of onr country will raise the sugar 
beet. The labor required to produce beets is much 




Courtesy of Santa Fe R. R. 
Fig. 93. A field of siujur heels. 

more than that required for an equal crop of corn, 
wheat, or potatoes; but the income is much greater. 
Preparation and Soil. The land for sugar beets 
must be a rich, deep soil. Plenty of moisture is 
needed while the plants are growing, and dry, warm 
weather when ripening. If sugar beets are to follow 
a grain crop, the land should be plowed lightly as 
soon as the grain is harvested. The ground is then 
dressed with a coat of manure, and later in the 
season it is plowed deep. The sub soiling plow that 
loosens the earth to a depth from fourteen to 
eighteen inches, enables beets to reach down into the 



SUGARS AND OTHEE CROPS I77 

soil where they will receive plenty of moisture at all 
seasons. Before planting, the ground is dragged 
or harrowed and rolled to pack it firmly. The beets 
are planted with machines. Horse-power machines 
plant four rows at a time. Since the sugar beet 
needs about four or five months' time to grow to 
the full size, it should be planted two or three weeks 
before corn. (Fig. 93.) 

Harvesting. In October the farmer takes a few 
beets to the factory to be tested for the amount and 
quality of juice. As beets increase in weight rap- 
idly the last six weeks, it is well to delay harvesting 
as long as is safe to avoid danger from frost. The 
beets may be plowed loose eight or ten days before 
removing from the ground. They are then pulled 
by hand and the top cut off close to the root to 
remove the matter that prevents the separating of 
the sugar from the juice. The beets are then sent 
to the factory. Europe produces larger crops of 
sugar beets than any other part of the world. 

Rice. Eice furnishes the principal food of half 
the human race. It first came from the East Indies, 
but is now raised in many parts of the earth. It 
was probably brought to America when the Caro- 
linas were settled, and it is now the staple product 
of South Carolina. There are two kinds of rice, the 
upland rice and the lowland rice. Lowland rice was 
first grown in places that were overflowed by the 
tides, but irrigation is now used to raise this variety 
in most of the Southern states. Upland rice does 



178 



ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 



not need to be flooded, but is cultivated much as 
oats or wheat. 

Growing Rice. The ground is prepared for rice 
and the seed is planted, harvested, and threshed 
very much the same as wheat. Where the rice crop 




Courtesy of the Alabama Tobacco Company 

Fig. 94. A heavy crop of tohacco and drying ham. 

is flooded with water, the ground is allowed to dry 
out at harvest time. The upland rice is thought by 
some planters to be better than the lowland variety, 
but the yield is not so great. 

Rice Products and Enemies. From the thresher, 
the rice is sent to the mill in barrels. A little more 
than half of it comes out clean rice, a small part is 
polish, and about a third is bran and waste. The 



SUGAES AND OTHER CEOPS 



179 



rice polish and bran are mixed and sold to feed pigs. 
The rice-stalk borer, the chinch bug, and the "black 
weevil" are all enemies of the rice crop. 

Tobacco. The United States produces more to- 
bacco than any other country in the world and sends 




Courtesy of the Alabama Tobacco Company 
Fig. 95. Drying and curing tobacco in a !cell-vcntilated barn. 

more than one-third of it to other lands. The vari- 
ety of tobacco raised depends upon the soil, climate, 
and the use it is to be put to. (Fig. 94.) 

Wet soils of clay produce large, heavy plants that 
cure to a dark brown or red. Light, sandy soils 
raise a thin leaf curing to a bright red, mahogany, 
or yellow color. The quality of tobacco is affected 
by the soil, kind of manure used, and the climate, 



180 



ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 



more than almost any other plant. In the northern 
regions the seed is sown in a hotbed protected by 
cheesecloth. The young plants are tender and need 
watering with a weak manure water. They should 
be transplanted when five or six weeks old. They 
may be well cultivated until the plant begins to 
bud ; then, if no seed is desired, the plants are topped 
so the strength may all go to the leaves. 

Fertilizer. Barnyard manure produces a rank 
growth of tobacco, but it is poor in quality. Potash 
is the most important plant food for tobacco. Nitro- 
gen is supplied in cotton-seed meal. 

Curing. When the leaves begin to turn yellow, 
the stalks are cut close to the ground. They should 




Fig. 96. A heavy crop of oats. 



be wilted by cutting them when the sun shines the 
hottest. The plants are then hung up in the drying 



SUGARS AND OTHEE CROPS 181 

house without being crowded together. (Fig. 95.) 
After drying, the leaves are removed and tied up 
in bundles called hands. The tobacco leaf loses more 
than three-fourths of its weight in curing. Tobacco 
is made into cigars, cigarettes, cheroots, and snuff. 
Oats, Barley, Rye, and Buckwheat. Other grains 
fit for temperate climates are oats, barley, rye, and 
buckwheat. All are sown much like wheat. Oats 
grow on light or heavy soils, but do not like too 
much water. (Fig. 96.) In the Western states oats 
are frequently sown on corn lands without plowing 
and are covered with a disk harrow. The varieties 
that mature early escape the rust. These plants 
furnish green forage, hay, and straw, while the grain 
products are food for both man and beast. 



CHAPTER XXII 
THE FARM GARDEN 

The Boy's Garden. The garden is a chance for 
the farmer boys and girls to have a little farm of 
their own. It is impossible for every child to have 
much space in the school garden (Fig. 97), but at 
home he should have a little plot of ground to raise 
his crops. Here he can plant what he likes and 
learn many important lessons about how to till the 
soil and to care for plants. Any boy likes to try 
experiments for himself and to feel that there is one 
spot where he is the "boss." "Whatever is raised 
in the .child's garden should be his produce to sell 
or give away as he pleases. 

A Good Story. The story is told of a certain 
farmer's boy who was anxious to leave the farm. 
He was tired of the salt meat and potatoes that 
were served at his father's table three tim-es a day. 
One summer he went to work for a neighbor. Here 
they had plenty of delicious sweet corn, tender 
young beets, sliced, ripe tomatoes, and meaty Lima 
beans, with a juicy melon from the spring house for 
dessert. The boy went home, started a garden, and 
decided to stay on the farm, (Fig. 98.) 

Gardens Everywhere. It is surprising how many 
garden crops can be grown in every part of the 
United States. In the cooler climates, garden truck 

182 



THE FARM GAEDEN 



183 



grows rapidly because of plenty of moisture. In 
Dakota the best place for a garden is where some 
large snowdrift has melted late in the spring. In 
Texas vegetables grow the year around. Different 



»t,^ ■;,% • ' 




_ 4 


Hj^Hk 


; /^'i 





Fig. 97. A school garden. 

varieties belong to different sections of the country, 
so seeds should be selected that have been tested 
and do well in the region where they are to be 
planted. 

Location and Soil. Since the garden belongs to 
the kitchen, it should be as near it as possible. 
Almost any soil .can be graded, manured, and 
drained into a good garden, unless it is a very stiff 
clay that will not admit draining. The best garden 



184 ELEMENTARY AGEICULTUEE 

soil is a sandy loam that will dry out quickly after 
rains, so that it may be cultivated often. 

Fertilizing. Plowing in the spring must be done 
as soon as the ground will permit, but it is better 
to plow the garden in the fall so that freezing will 
crumble the ground into fine particles. Garden 
plants are grown close together in a small space, 
and we want them to grow quickly, so they need a 
great deal of plant food. A thick dressing of stable 
manure, from five to ten loads to an acre, should be 
put on before the second plowing. If this garden 
manure is hauled in the fall and made into a long, 
narrow heap mixed with sods and forest leaves, it 
will be well rotted and fine by spring; and it will 
easily mix through the soil, giving every inch of 
ground its portion. Leaves from the lawn should 
always be piled on the garden to decay. 

Well-rotted manure supplies all the nitrogen a 
garden requires, but to give vegetables a good flavor, 
potash is needed. Wood ashes will furnish this. 
After the manure is plowed under, the ashes are 
sifted on top, and then the surface is harrowed until 
all is fine as an ash heap. Dried hen manure, 
pounded fine and sifted, is often harrowed in with 
the ashes and is especially good for some garden 
crops. 

Preparation. The garden should be plowed from 
six to eight inches deep and harrowed four or five 
times. All stones must be removed. If these can 
be buried so as to be beneath the reach of the plow, 



THE FARM GARDEN 



185 




Fig. 98. A boy's garden — Beautiful as loell as profitable. 

tliey will help to drain certain wet spots in tlie gar- 
den. A liand roller and hand rake are used for pul- 
verizing and crashing lumps of earth left by the 
harrow. For root crops in clay, a subsoil plow that 
drags a second share after the first and breaks and 
loosens the bottom of the furrow to a great depth is 
often used. 

Garden Tools. Small hand tools, such as trowels, 
spuds, and dibbles, are used in transplanting. The 
hoe and steel garden rake are useful in finishing 
the top of the ground. The common hoe is too wide 
for narrow rows and delicate plants, so there are 



186 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 

many different sorts of blades made. Markers for 
keeping rows straight and a small hand roller, are 
great helps. The wheel hoe is the best cultivator. 
Every farmer should have blades of different sizes 
and a set of disks which can be used on the culti- 
vator. 

Mulch. We know that a covering of fine, dry 
earth, or a dust mulch, prevents moisture from es- 
caping from the ground. "A finely raked garden 
bed is dry on top, but the footprints of the cat re- 
main moist for days, because the animal packed the 
soil wherever it stepped, and the water climbed up 
from one grain of earth to another until it reached 
the surface." Besides convenience in cultivating, 
it is wise to plant seeds in rows, instead of in beds 
which have been raised or hilled up, with high beds 
and low places between. When we leave the ground 
rough, or make large holes around our garden 
plants, we leave more soil exposed to the air, and 
this helps moisture to escape from the ground. In 
a very wet season, it is well to hill up crops like 
potatoes or corn, because w^e then wish to get rid 
of part of the moisture. 

Planting. We are usually told to make the earth 
firm and well packed over newly-planted seeds, be- 
cause this brings moisture to the seeds lying near 
the surface and so hastens the sprouting. As soon 
as the seeds have sprouted, the ground should be 
loosened to stop evaporation. Large seeds can be 
jDlanted deep and the earth well packed over them, 



THE FARM CAR DEN 187 

then the top is raked. To water a bed, wet it thor- 
oughly in the evening. When the morning sun 
begins to dry it out, loosen the top earth to stop 
the rise of moisture. Sprinkling the |)lants every 
few days is very harmful. Do not sow small, slow- 
sprouting seeds like celery and onions in land that 
bakes. A layer of chaff or a board may be laid on 
the row to hold moisture, but it must be gradually 
lifted as soon as the seeds get a start. 

Transplanting. In thickly-sown seed beds one 
must thin or move the plants to the garden as soon 
as they have their first true leaves. While seeds of 
lettuce, onions, radishes, peas, and many other 
things, can be sown in the ground in the early 
spring, we can gain from four to six weeks by sow- 
ing the seeds of others indoors and transplanting 
them. Many farmers buy their egg plants, tomatoes, 
cauliflower, aud peppers from hothouse gardens; 
while others grow their own in window boxes, hot- 
beds, and cold frames. 

The Window Box. A window box fifteen inches 
square and six inches deep, or old tin pans nearly 
filled with soil, are put in a south or east window. 
Suitable soil or dirt has been obtained in the fall 
and stored in the cellar or some convenient place. 
This is mixed with a little coal ashes or fine sand 
to make it light and loamy. The seed is scattered 
and covered lightly. The soil is then watered with 
a fine sprinkler. Squashes and cucumbers may be 
planted on pieces of sod turned upside down. These 



188 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 

sods can be set into the ground as soon as the soil 
can be worked. 

Hotbeds. Hotbeds are box-like frames sunk in 
the ground and covered with a sasli filled in with 
glass or cloth. Some of the soil in the frame is 
taken out, and horse manure is put in its place. 
When packed solidly in the pit, the manure rots and 
produces heat. Over the manure is three or four 
inches of fine garden soil in which the seeds are 
planted. The manure keeps the soil above it warm. 
Hot air or hot water pipes are sometimes used under 
the hotbeds instead of manure. A well-drained spot, 
sheltered from the cold winds and sloping to the 
south, is best, because the sunshine is very helpful. 
It takes care and judgment to handle a hotbed prop- 
erly, because plants must be aired and watered at 
proper times. 

Cold Frames. The cold frame is like the hotbed, 
but has no manure in it and therefore no bottom 
heat. A combination hotbed and cold frame may 
be made of a large drygoods box partly filled with 
horse manure well trampled down and covered with 
clean straw. Small, shallow boxes are nearly filled 
with soil. After the seed has been planted in them, 
they are pla,ced on the top of the manure and cov- 
ered with a pane of glass. Thus each box becomes 
a little hotbed. The glass is removed now and then 
for air. If the manure becomes too warm, the small 
boxes are raised on bricks. When the heat of the 
manure is gone, the hotbed becomes a cold frame. 



THE FARM GARDEN 189 

Preparing for Transplanting. When the ground 
out of doors gets ready for transplanting, the plants 
in the window boxes may gradually become used to 
the colder air by having the window raised a little 
at a time. The hotbed sash is left open on bright, 
sunny days until the plants are ready for living in 
the open air. 

Transplanting. In transplanting, one must handle 
plants gently and plant them in freshlj^-turned soil 
which is very fine. A hole is made with a dibble or 
trowel. Put a cupful of water in each hole, and 
press the earth firmly about the roots. Roots of 
plants are often broken off in transplanting. Ex- 
cept with tomatoes and eggplants, part of the leaves 
may be cut off so the roots will not have too much 
top to feed until they get a firm hold. If the soil 
is freshly turned and the transplanting is well done, 
it is not necessary to water plants. If late in the 
season the gardener may transplant on a rainy or 
cloudy day. A handful of grass or hay packed 
around iilants that have just been set out is better 
than covering with tin cans or flower pots, for they 
need light and air to breathe. 

Rotating or Changing Crops. Every vegetable 
has its own insect enemies and diseases. If the 
same vegetables are raised year after year on the 
same soil, these insects and diseases will grow worse. 
The vegetable also uses up some of the particular 
plant foods that it needs. Some plants are surface 
feeders, the roots not growing deep. Beets, carrots. 



190 ELEiMENTAKY AGRICULTURE 

and potatoes grow deeper and are able to feed where 
the others could not. If vine crops are followed 
with root crops, the latter will do well by feeding 
below where the others did. Radishes, early lettuce, 
spinach, or peas may be harvested early, and cab- 
bage, beets, or late sweet corn planted in their 
places. 

Planting Between Rows. Planting between rows 
sometimes works well. In late June, when potato 
vines are well started, and the rows are well cleaned, 
late sweet corn is often planted between. However, 
if the season is too dry, this may injure both crops. 
Sowing turnips broadcast in late sweet corn or 
among tomatoes and squash, is worth trying. 

Weeds. Weeds take moisture and x)lant food out 
of the soil, and they spoil the shape of many vege- 
tables by crowding in upon them as they grow. 
They should not be allowed to reach the second leaf. 
In hand weeding it is well to collect the weeds in 
a basket. They sometimes take root again when 
left on the mellow garden soils. When weeds get 
a start, it is a good plan to cut off the tops with a 
sickle before seed forms on them. Mulching be- 
tween the rows with a layer of straw prevents weeds 
from growing. 

Mulching. In a dry season, after plants have 
been cultivated a few times and are well above 
ground, hay or straw about four inches deep may 
be put between the rows. This saves the labor of 
weeding and keeps the soil moist and cool. It is 



THE FARM GARDEN 191 

especially good for potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, 
beans, or vine plants, though in a wet season straw 
holds too much moisture. 

Peas. Peas are the first product of real food 
value of the early garden. They are both delicious 
in flavor and very nourishing. By sowing the seed 
about a week apart, and using different varieties, 
one may harvest peas all summer. But the late 
varieties are in danger of mildew. Peas grow best 
in a cool climate, in a light, moderately rich soil. 
The first plantings should be in as soon as the 
ground can be worked. The soil must be kept mel- 
low and free from weeds to raise good peas. They 
need not be staked with brush when the garden is 
worked with a horse cultivator. Where the brush 
is used they may be sowed in double rows. There 
are a great variety of peas, and those that have 
been tested in your region should be planted. Peas 
are injured by mildew and the pea weevil. The 
weevil may be killed in the seed by placing them, 
before planting, in a closed vessel containing carbon- 
bisulphide. 

Beans. String beans should be sown as soon as 
the ground is free from frost, and every two weeks 
afterward to keep a supply for the summer. A 
sandy soil and a southern slope are best for beans, 
because they are tender and easily frosted. They 
should be planted less than two inches deep, for 
the growing top of the little plant is liable to be 
torn ot¥ as it comes through the ground. When 



192 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 

beans are to be used green, they must be picked 
frequently, for if the pods are allowed to ripen, the 
plants will stop producing. The bean weevil is a 
serious enemy and should be treated like the pea 
weevil. Lima and butter beans are best grown in 
Southern climates. Poles or stakes for these should 
be set at least four feet apart each way for their 
vines to climb on. The worst disease of string beans 
is the brownish or reddish pitted spots upon the 
pods; they spoil the appearance of the crop and cut 
down the yield. 

Beets. The root crops all need a loose, deep soil. 
Subsoiling or double plowing is useful in hard earth. 
Beets are grown in rows three and a half feet apart. 
They may be sown very early, for the young plants 
will endure a light frost. They should be thinned 
when the plants are just big enough for greens. For 
winter beets, seed may be sown in July or x\ugust 
in the central states. After the first heavy frost, 
the gardener should take up the roots, cut off the 
tops, and store the beets in a root cellar or pit. 
Leaf-blight is common with the beet in some places. 
This is prevented by spraying with the Bordeaux 
mixture. 

Turnips. Turnips should be planted on a rainy 
day and the seed covered lightly. About three- 
quarters of an ounce of seed to a row one hundred 
feet long. Young plants are thinned from five to 
seven inches in the row. If the plant grows too 
slowly, it is stringy and bitter. The fall and winter 



THE FAEM GARDEN 193 

crops of turnips are sown in July, after the early- 
garden crops are harvested. The white and yellow 
varieties are equally good, except that the white 
turnip keeps best through the winter. Except the 
maggot, the turnip has no insect enemies. 

Carrots. Carrots are good for soups, salads, 
stews, and other savory dishes. Carrot seed sprouts 
slowly, so it should not be sown deep. The earth 
must be kept loose. Radish seed sown in the same 
row will break the earth crust, and show where to 
expect the row of the carrots to appear. If seed 
is sown several times, a week or two apart, there 
will always be some carrots on hand. The plant has 
no serious insect enemies. 

Parsnips and Salsify. Parsnips may be treated 
exactly like the carrot. Parsnips and salsify may 
be left in the ground all winter without protection, 
and they make delicious fresh vegetables as soon 
as the ground thaws. Salsify, or vegetable oyster, 
should be sown very early in the spring and the 
plants should not be .crowded. 

Radishes. Radishes need a mellow, quick soil. 
They do not thrive in clay. To be tender they must 
grow rapidly and should be eaten while small. 
Grubs burrow into the roots and make them wormy, 
if the same piece of ground is used every year. 

Horse-radish. Horse-radish is grown from small 
roots that are trimmed from large ones when the 
crop is stored in the fall. These sets are planted 
two or three inches deep, top side up, and from 



194 ELEMENTAKY AGKiCULTUEE 

fifteen to eighteen inches apart in fairly wide rows. 

Swiss Chard. Swiss chard provides "greens" all 
through the season. Only one sowing need be made. 
The chard is cultivated the same as the beet and 
thinned to twelve inches. If, when the outer leaves 
are as large as your hand, they are stripped off, a 
new supply of tender ones will keep coming. 

Asparagus. Asparagus is a hardy plant. Its seed 
may be sown either early in the spring or late in 
the fall. When the roots are a year old, they should 
be transplanted in rows five feet apart, away from 
roots of trees or otlier plants. As much stable 
manure as can be plowed under, plowing ten to 
twelve inches deep, should be put on. Dig a trench 
nine or ten inches deep, and lay the roots about 
two feet apart in the bottom, covering them two 
inches deep with loose soil. The young roots that 
come up from the seed every summer should be 
weeded out. If the seed balls are cut off before they 
turn red, the plants can be kept from self-sowing. 
When the stalks begin coming up in the spring, the 
ground may be mulched with manure. This will 
save hoeing and also feed the roots. 

Sweet Corn. If good seed is planted, it will pro- 
duce a tender, sugary ear of sweet corn. Corn varie- 
ties mix so easily that only the most careful selection 
of kernels can improve a strain of corn. If the first 
lot is planted early in April, it will ripen the latter 
part of June in the latitude of New York. The corn 
should be planted thickly in drills with six or seven 



THE FARM GARDEN 



105 



kernels in a hill. If some should fail to sprout, 
there will be plenty left. If all seeds grow, it is easy 
to thin them. Be sure that there are not lumps or 
stones over the corn. The plant cannot fight its 
way out like beans and pumpkins. After the corn 




Fig. 99. A u-ell-cnliiratcd cabbage lot. 

is up, a handful of wood ashes on each hill will 
"make it jumj). " Break the crust after rains, keep 
the weeds and suckers down, and cultivate between 
the rows. For a continuous crop, plant every ten 
or twelve days until the latter part of July. 

Cabbage. Cabbages need a moist, deep, well- 
d rained soil. They thrive better in a spot where 



196 ELEMENTAKY AORICULTUEE 

cabbage, turnips, or mustard have not been grown 
for throe years. Select good seed, and sow in a hot- 
bed or window box. When the jihints are in the 
fonrth leaf, thin them to secure stocky plants, and 
transplant only the best roots. When transplanting, 
remove the upper part of the leaves, set the plants 
firmly, and stir the surface soil. To stop the heads 
from bursting as they form, one may loosen the 
roots by slightly lifting and twisting the plant. 
Whitish butterflies lay their eggs on cabbages. 
These hatch green worms that eat the leaves. Kill 
the worms and spray with Paris green and water, 
or sprinkle with salt, lime, wood ashes, or pepper. 
The cabbage maggot works at the stem or root and 
causes decay. A piece of tarred paper put around 
the stem on the ground drives away the moth that 
lays the eggs. (Fig. 99.) 

Lettuce. Lettuce is the most widely-grown salad 
vegetable. It is now ready for the table every month 
in the year. Winter and early spring crops are 
grown in cold frames. Seed for an early spring crop 
may be sowed in a cold frame in jNTarch. Sowings 
in the garden can be made from April to October. 
The cabbage varieties, or head lettuce, are blanched 
by tying the tops together. 

Cucumbers, Melons, and Squashes. The seeds of 
cucumbers, melons, and siiunshes should be planted 
in shallow hills, three or four in a hill. They are all 
tender to frost. If each hill is covered with a box 
frame, it can be raised on warm days and taken 



THE far:\[ garden 197 

away wlien frost is past. The cucumber beetle and 
the "stink bug" are the chief enemies of these 
plants. Ashes, lime, and tobacco dust are used to 
drive them away. Muskmelons grow in warm, 
sandy land. Soil and location affect them greatly. 

Onions. Onions are grown from seed or sets in 
the open ground or in hotbeds. If sown outside, the 
seed should be i)ut in as early as possible in shallow 
rows three feet apart and covered with a half-inch 
of fine, moist earth. They must be carefully weeded. 

Tomatoes. Tomatoes grew first in the South, so 
they need long seasons to ripen. Now, by selecting 
the right variety, the tomato can be grown in nearly 
every section of the United States. The plant may 
be started under glass or in window boxee about 
March first. They should be put in a cold frame 
where light and air are admitted on sunny days, 
until the ground in the garden is warm. Toma- 
to plants are set from two to four feet apart. 
They need moderate pruning and some simple means 
of holding the plant off the ground when the fruit 
is ripe. The varieties differ in color from pink and 
creamy and bright yellows to bright red. 

Grapes. In order that grapes may ripen, they 
need a warm soil and a sunny exposure. A trellis 
is used for support. Ten feet between the vines is 
best for most kinds. The Concord grape is raised 
in New York and Ohio; the small Delaware, in Dela- 
ware, Maryland, and New Jersey; but if we wish to 
see great clusters of white grapes, we must go to 



198 ELE.MEXTAKY AGRICULTUEE 

California. Tlie largest grapevine of the world may 
there be seen. It covers half an acre. 

Raisins are dried grapes. There is a raisin vine- 
yard in southern California which covers five thou- 
sand acres. Vines are pruned every year and the 
grapes gathered from the new shoots. Five-sixths 
of the grapes in California are made into wine or 
grape juice, or they are pressed as raisins. The 
dried currants that we use are really dried grapes. 
Grapevines are the prey of downy mildew, when it 
is hot and dry — also of black rot. Vines that have 
been weakened by bearing too heavy crops are often 
attacked. Prunings and fallen leaves and fruit 
should be destroyed, and the vines sprayed with the 
Bordeaux mixture. The first spraying should be 
done in the spring before the growth starts, and 
this should be followed every three weeks through 
the summer. To protect grapes for home use from 
black rot, frost, and birds, the clusters may be cov- 
ered wdth paper bags which are allowed to stay on 
until the fruit is ripe. The warmth induced by the 
bags makes the fruit ripen earlier and it is larger. 

Raspberries and Blackberries. The raspberries 
and blackberries do well in cool soil kept moist by 
mulching, after the ground has been thoroughly pre- 
pared. The shoots of both raspberries and black- 
berries that are sent up one season, bear fruit and 
die the next season. Pinch back the new shoots 
when they are two or three feet tall. This hastens 
the throwing out of side shoots upon which fruit 



THE FARM GARDEN 



199 



will be borne the following year. As soon as freez- 
ing weather is over in the spring, these side shoots 
should be cnt back from nine to twelve inches. When 
the crop is gathered the old canes or shoots should 
be removed, and new ones cut away, leaving four 




Fig. lliO. Notliivg so p)ic «.s- liO)nc-groxrn slrawberrics. 

to five good canes to each hill. For red rust, one 
must pull the plant out of the ground and burn it. 
Spraying has a good effect in fighting off the dis- 
eases of the plants. 

Strawberries. The strawberry thrives best on a 
strong sandy loam or a light clay loam. For most 
purposes the plants do well to grow in narrow, 



200 ELEMENTARY AGEICULTURE 

matted rows. Tliey should be set out in the spring 
as early as the ground can be worked, in rows three 
and one-half feet apart, with the plants from one 
to two feet apart in the row. Planting may be done 
with a trowel or dibble. One must take care to 
spread the roots as much as possible and to press 
the soil firmly about them, holding the plant so the 
bud will be just above the surface. As fast as run- 
ners form, they should be removed, so that the 
strength of the plant may be used in producing 
fruit. (Fig. 100.) During the first season, straw- 
berries are worked often. Weeds must be kept 
down, and the surface soil should be loose and open. 
Just before the ground freezes, a thorough cultiva- 
tion should be given. After t.he ground is frozen, 
the plants may be mulched to the depth of two inches 
with straw. 

The second season should bring a good crop. The 
June bug is the most common enemy of the straw- 
berry. (Fig. 42.) When sod land is used for the 
crop, cutworms are very troublesome. 

Currants and Gooseberries. The currant and 
gooseberry bushes like a cool, moist soil, so they 
cannot be grown in the Southern states. For the 
first two years after planting, they need but little 
care in pruning, except to cut back the new shoots 
about one-half. If they are very thick it is well to 
remove the weaker ones. Mulching will help to keep 
the soil moist. To do away with the worm and 
mildew, spraying is necessary. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
COUNTRY EOADS 

The Importance of Good Roads. Few boys and 
girls realize how important good roads are to the 
farmer. Well-made highways enable farmers to 
save much time in marketing produce, and time is 
money. Easy travel also saves the energy of the 
horses, which means economy of feed. When the 
roads are in order the farmer can use his team when 
the field work can not be done, and this reduces the 
idle time of the horses. If travel is easy, the farmer 
will go to market oftener, selling many odds and 
ends of farm produce that otherwise might be left 
to go to waste because of the time it would take to 
dispose of it to advantage. For these and other 
reasons a fine public road makes the farms along 
the way more valuable. (Fig. 101.) 

Sociability Encouraged. Aside from the money 
gain to the farmer, good roads encourage his family 
to move about more and to enjoy themselves socially. 
They gain a great deal in this contact with their 
neighbors. They go oftener to church, to other 
social events, to lectures, and to the city. 

Good Roads and Schools. The older children may 
go farther to school if the roads permit. Consoli- 
dated schools are thus made possible, and pupils 
may be transported at public expense some distance 

201 



202 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

to the larger centralized schools, which have so 
many advantages over the one-room rural school. 
More expert teachers may be had, a trained super- 
intendent can be employed, the children are better 
graded and the larger classes create more enthusi- 
asm in study and recitation. A teacher trained in 
the science of agriculture can be secured to take 
charge of that subject and of the school garden. 
Centralized schools, besides being better equipped 
in every way, may be managed more economically 
in one building which requires only one heating sys- 
tem and one janitor. And all this is possible only 
when the roads are kept in good condition. 

City People Interested. City people also demand 
good country roads because the better the roads, the 
more easily they obtain country produce and the 
cheaper it is. City people are using the country 
roads more every year for pleasure-driving and for' 
automobiles. It is said that automobiles^ because 
of the high rate of speed at which they go, do more 
to wear out the roads than all the heavy teaming 
of the farmers. The suction of the swift-moving 
w^heels picks up all the finer parti'cles and scatters 
dust far and wdde. Because of the ravage done by 
the city automobiles, it is unjust to expect the 
farmers to build and keep the roads in repair. More- 
over, the cost of the produce that the farmer takes 
to market is of as much concern to the people in 
the city that consume it, as it is to the man who 
has it to sell. 



COUNTRY ROADS 



203 



Marketing Farm Produce. More than two hun- 
dred fifty million tons of freight are hauled from 
farms to the market or railway stations each year. 
Counting the labor of men and horses, the wear of 




Courtesy of the Xatiniial Paving Brick .Mfg. A.-.-<n. c -leNelaiid, Oliio 
FiCi. 101. A brick road 7'aiscs the value of farm land. 

vehicles and harness, it costs on an average about 
twenty-three cents to move each one of these mil- 
lions of tons one mile. Railroads haul a ton of 
freight for long distances for less than a cent a mile. 
The farmer's distance to market averages nine miles 
and so the cost of hauling a ton of farm produce to 
market averages two dollars and nine cents. Better 



204 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 

roads would i^ermit larger loads to be hauled iu 
the same time and lighter loads in much less time. 
(Fig. 102.) 

The First Expert Road Builders. The Romans 
were the first to solve the problem of how to build 
good highways. The central government at Rome 
built all the roads and kept them up. They were 
made of stone by trained experts, and in so solid 
a manner that, though the surface has required re- 
pair from time to time, the stone foundations are 
as good to-day as when they were built two thou- 
sand years ago. They will be serviceable for cen- 
turies yet to come. 

Roads Abroad and at Home. European countries 
commonly have fine roads because they are con- 
structed by skilled engineers under government 
service. But most states in our country still have 
their roads in charge of county officers who are not 
skilled in road building and who serve only short 
terms, giving place to others less experienced than 
themselves. These county officers are perhaps good 
business men, but are not students of scientific road 
construction ; consequently, although millions of dol- 
lars have been spent on American country roads, 
they are in the main a failure. (Fig. 103.) 

Plantation Mud Pikes. The earliest American 
roads were built in Virginia and led from the plan- 
tations to the landings on the rivers. These were 
simply mud roads built by the plantation owners. 
Hogsheads of tobacco were fitted with a pair of 



COUNTRY EOADS 



205 




.f the Xatidiial 1 



land, Ohio 



Fig. 102. A brick road needs but little care or repair and brings 
the market nearer. 

shafts for a horse and were thus rolled along these 
roads to the river landings by horse power. Sup- 
plies for the plantations were hauled homeward in 
rude carts. 

Our Early Roads. Save the Cumberland road, 
our national Government has done very little road 
building. The task of constructing good highways 
through rough and hilly sections has been poorly 
done and at great expense. In the early days many 
long roads were made and paid for by private par- 
ties, who then made every one who wished to use 



206 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 




I'lii. lOo. KiWji loiciislnp sliutdd oini a .stcaut laud roller. 

tlieiii pay a toll. There are now but few toll roads. 

Working Out the Road Tax. There are two ways 
of paying road taxes used in different parts of our 
land. One way is for the farmer to take his team 
and work on the road long enough to pay for the 
tax levied against him. This method is a failure, 
for the farmers seldom know how to build good 
roads and care very little how they work so long- 
as they put in their time and get back to their 
crops. 

A Better Way. The other method is much more 
satisfactory. It is this: Each farmer pays his road 
tax in cash and the money is used to employ men 
who are practiced in road making. Sometimes a 
man is employed the year round to prevent the 



COUNTEY EOADS 



207 



roads from getting out of repair. "A stitcli in time 
saves nine," and so it is with a shovelful of gravel. 
A man and a horse and cart kept busy at the gravel 
pit all through the year are worth many times more 
in securing good roads than all the "working out" 
of taxes. 

The State's Part. Many people are now coming 
to see that the state ought to keep up at least the 
main roads as well as build them. This will insure 
the employment of road engineers, and it will be 
done in a more permanent manner. 

Drainage. It is useless to build a road without 
first providing a dry roadbed. Standing water and 
the grinding of wagon wheels will soon reduce any 




FlQ- 104. Gradincj and, draining ar^ essential to good roads. 



208 ELEMENTARY AGEICULTUEE 

road to a quagmire. The first step towards making 
permanent roads is to provide permanent drainage 
by ditching and tiling where it is necessary. (Fig. 
104.) 

Grading. Next in importance to drainage comes 
grading. The narrower the roadbed the easier it 
is to keep in order, because water will not so readily 
collect in it, but roads must be wide enough for 
teams to pass. The surface should be slightly 
rounded to shed water quickly, and the ruts must 
be filled as soon as they appear. Here is Avhere 
the care-taker gets in his best work by preventing 
deep ruts from forming and keeping the roadbed 
dry. (Fig. 105.) 

Surfacing Clay Roads. After drainage and grad- 
ing comes the surfacing of the road. On a clay road 
a fairly hard and inexpensive surface may be made 
by thoroughly mixing gravel with the clay. This 
packs well and makes a hard surface, so if the mix- 
ture is of sufficient thickness the road will bear 
heavy traffic. 

Sand Roads. Sand roads may be greatly im- 
proved by surfacing with clay. Sand mixed with 
clay does not make so firm a roadbed as gravel and 
clay, but it makes a fairly good surface. 

Loam Roads. There are tens of thousands of 
miles of loam roads in the Central West and these 
roads are almost bottomless in wet weather. Loam 
takes water like a sponge, and on such roads it is 
not an uncommon sight to see an empty wagon 



COUNTKY EOADS 209 

mired and abandoned. Farmers are told not to work 
their fields when it is wet, because it will harden 
them and they will bake afterward. This is the very 
reason why loam roads should have the surface 
stirred when wet. Such working is called puddling. 
It brings the soil grains in closer contact, making 
a harder surface than before. 

The Split-log Drag. The tool most useful for pud- 
dling is the split-log drag. The halves of the log 
are held on edge a few feet apart by rounds inserted 
like the rounds of a ladder. This drag used on 
muddy roads will smear or puddle the surface, 
making it tough and hard. By lengthening one 
chain and allowing the inner end of the drag to lag 
behind as it is drawn along, it fills up the ruts and 
works all loose material toward the middle of the 
road. This gives the surface a rounded shape for 
good drainage. 

Other Aids to Good Roads. This drag is very 
useful on dry roads also. By riding on the outer or 
ditch-end of the drag and driving once on either 
side of the road, the ruts are filled and the center 
made higher. There should be a law requiring all 
heavy hauling to be done with wide-tire wagons 
only. Wide tires pack and harden the road like a 
roller, whereas narrow tires cut and injure the road 
surface. 

Gravel and Shell Surfacing. Different kinds of 
materials are used in surfacing roads. When suit- 
able gravel can be found it will make an excellent 



210 



ELEMENTARY AGEJCULT UKE 




l''i(i. 1U5. (Ir<idiii(j a cuuiitrij road. 



road. In communities near the coast, shells from 
the sea are often nsed to surface roads and with 
excellent results. 

Stone Roads. Probably the most popular mate- 
rial is broken stone. Stone-bedded roads are said 
to be macadamized, because a Scotch engineer 
named Macadam was the first to use and urge this 
kind of road. 

Thick Roman Roads. The old Roman roads were 
surfaced with stone, which was often several feet 
thick and thus very expensive. Macadam believed 
that a smaller amount of stone could be made to 
serve just as well, and he urged that it would cost 
much less. The world has come to see the correct- 
ness of this plan, and now macadamized roads are 
found everywhere. 



COUNTRY KOADS 



211 



The Macadam Road. In order to build a mac- 
adam road, the roadbed is first given the slope de- 
sired, so the water will quickly flow to the side 
gutters. After this the bed is rolled hard with a 
heavy roller; then it is covered with a layer of 
coarse stone and rolled again. Then another layer 
of finer crushed rock is spread on top and rolled 
until it works in between the pieces of the coarser 
stone. A layer of still finer crushed stone or sand 
is next spread on and sprinkled with water, after 
which it is rolled until a smooth, hard surface is 
formed. Such roads are from six to twelve inches 




Courtesy of the National Paving Briik All's. Ass'n, 
Fig. 10;i. Lai/hif/ a hiick roml. 



thick. They cost from three thousand to six thou 
sand dollars per mile, but intelligent farmers realize 
that such tax monev is well invested. 



212 ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 

Brick Roads. It is said that the best road mate- 
rial to resist the wear of automobiles is brick. Brick 
pavements cost considerably more than the macad- 
amized road, but they are more satisfactory in many 
ways. They last longer, they require less repair, 
and they are not so dusty. In many places, as in 
Cleveland, Ohio, the brick pavements are being ex- 
tended from the ,city limits to the county line, where 
the adjoining county is planning to take it up and 
extend the road to other cities. (Figs. 101, 102, 106.) 

The Draft on Different Surfaces. How much a 
team can pull depends upon the firmness and 
smoothness of the roadbed and the grade. A load 
that three horses can just pull on level, hard asphalt, 
would require seven horses on smooth block pave- 
ment, fourteen horses on cobblestone, forty horses 
on an ordinary country earth road, and eighty on 
a sandy road. 

Pulling Up Hill. The grade is also important. 
It has been found that if a horse can just pull a 
thousand pounds on a level road, he can draw only 
nine hundred pounds up a one per cent grade, eight 
hundred pounds up a two per cent grade, four hun- 
dred pounds up a five per cent grade, and only two 
hundred fifty pounds up a ten per cent grade. A 
one per cent grade is one that rises one foot in each 
hundred feet of distance, a two per cent grade rises 
two feet for each hundred feet, and so on. It is 
therefore much better to build the road around a 
hill than over it under most circumstances. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

PRESERVING FOODS 

Germs which Help and Hinder. The farmer's 
wife has her prohlems of canning fruits and pre- 
serving foods. It is a help to her to know the ene- 
mies she must fight and the harm they do. There 
are three living organisms that will cause animal 
or vegetable matter to decay. These are yeast, 
molds, and germs, or bacteria. 

The Yeast Plant. In order to grow, the yeast 
plant must have warmth, air, moisture, and sugar. 
This plant grows and divides into two plants, and 
these divide again and so on. Thus this tiny plant 
multiplies amazingly in a short time. It will grow 
in fruit juice and in fruit slightly sweetened, but it 
will not grow in thick sirups or preserves. It is 
easily killed by a high or low temperature. 

Making Bread. A small amount of yeast is put 
in the dough to make it ^^rise" for bread. "When 
sugar is added, the plants increase in great numbers 
in a few hours. They start the decay of the mix- 
ture and create a gas which forms bubbles through- 
out the mass, and these make the bread rise. When 
the bread is baked the yeast plant is killed by the 
heat, and the gas escapes. 

Mold. Mold is spread about by tiny spores or 
seeds floating in the air. When they lodge on a 

213 



214 ELEMENTARY AGRiCULTUKE 

warm, moist surface, such as foods, they readily 
germinate and spread over the surface. Molds may 
be destroyed by heating to a high temperature for 
about twenty minutes. Canned and preserved fruits 
are more liable to be injured by yeast and mold 
than by bacteria. 

Canning Fruit. The important things to remem- 
ber in canning and preserving are to keep all cook- 
ing utensils clean and to kill all germs. This we 
call sterilizing. The kettles, jars, strainers, covers, 
rubbers, and other utensils used in canning, must 
be scalded to kill the germs, or bacteria. When 
all germs in the jars and fruit are killed, the cans 
are sealed while hot so as not to permit other germs 
from the air to enter. If live germs are left in 
canned fruit, a gas will escape which means that 
decay or decomposition has set in, and the food has 
begun to spoil. Foods and other organic matter 
will not decay if germs are kept out. 

Bacteria. Bacteria multiply rapidly in meat, 
milk, and legumes. They cannot grow without the 
presence of Avater. Dried fruits and meats will keep 
because there is no water in which the germs may 
grow. Neither can bacteria live in a strong solution 
of common salt. That is why we salt meat to pre- 
serve it. 

Smoking Meats. Meats are also preserved from 
germs by smoking. Smoking leaves a thin coat of 
creosote on the surface of the meat, which not only 
kills all germs but gives the meat a good flavor. 



PEESERVING FOODS 215 

Certain kinds of wood smoke give the best flavor, 
tliongli any wood may be used for the purpose. 

Cold Storage. Putting foods in cold storage does 
not kill the bacteria, but it keeps them from grow- 
ing and multiplying. As soon as the temperature 
rises, the}^ begin to act and the food soon spoils. 

Preserving Fruits. Sugar is used somewhat in 
curing meats and very extensively in preserving 
fruits. When fruits are cooked for a long time the 
"boiling down" kills all germs and drives off the 
water so that other germs can not grow. 

Souring of Milk. It is also germs that cause milk 
to sour. The air contains many germs, the dust of 
the barn is full of them, and there are some on the 
milk pail and on the hands of the milker. So it is 
impossible to keep germs from milk. All milk cans 
should be scalded after using and, if possible, placed 
in the sunlight, which is a powerful enemy of germs. 

Bacteria in Butter and Cider. Germs or bacteria 
make butter rancid. This can be prevented by 
working out of the butter all the milk and water 
which bacteria need to thrive and by thoroughly 
mixing salt into it. It is bacteria that makes cider 
turn sour and ferment. The solid, slimy mass known 
as the "mother of vinegar" is merel}^ a vast colony 
of bacteria. Sweet cider makes the best vinegar 
because it contains more sugar for the bacteria to 
work upon. The process of making vinegar from 
new cider may be hastened by introducing some 
"mother of vinegar.*' 



CHAPTER XXV 
FAKM SANITATION 

Location of the Farmhouse. The farmhouse 
should, if possible, be located near the center of the 
farm so as to save the farmer's time in going to and 
from his fields. But the health of the family must 
have first consideration, and the home ought to be 
on high, well-drained ground away from marshes, 
swamps, and stagnant ponds. If the country is 
hilly, the south slope may be chosen for the house, 
because it is somewhat shielded from cold north 
winds and because the south slope affords more 
sunlight, which is the greatest friend of health and 
the greatest enemy of germs. 

Dry Surroundings. The yard should be graded 
in such a manner as to turn all surface water away 
from the house, not only for health's sake, but for 
cleanliness, as mud and dampness about the house 
make the task of cleaning, fall heavily on the house- 
wife. Farmers can easily learn to make cement 
walks to connect the house with the other farm 
buildings. Damp cellars cause mildew, and the 
decay of vegetables stored there sends a moldy, dis- 
agreeable odor over the whole house. The cellar 
should be light and ventilated by open windows, 
covered in summer by coarse netting to keep out 
flies and mosquitoes. The mosquito that carries the 

216 



FARM SANITATION 217 

malaria germ will breed in any damp corner of the 
cellar unless it is screened. 

Shade. Trees are very desirable about the home, 
but they should not be so dense as to shut out sun- 
light, nor should they be too close, because leaves 
will fall in the house gutters. 

Water Supply. One of the richest blessings of 
any farm is good, pure drinking water. It is of the 
greatest importance that wells are carefully covered 
over and that no surface w^ater is allowed to run 
in over the unguarded edges. Surface water is al- 
ways more or less dangerous, because it may carry 
a small amount of sewage which contains the ty- 
phoid germ. After water has soaked through a few 
feet of earth it is said to be filtered and free from 
germs. Every well or cistern should be provided 
with a modern pump. The old-fashioned bucket is 
a danger to health, since careless people drink direct- 
ly from it, perhaps leaving disease germs in the 
vessel which endanger others. Cistern water is 
more liable to contain disease germs than that from 
wells, because the water comes from house gutters, 
where in dry weather many germs are carried by 
the wind. Although many of these are killed by sun- 
light, those that escape are carried into the cistern. 

Sewage a Source of Disease. Surface streams are 
most to be feared. If they have passed close to 
neighboring houses and their outbuildings, the 
water should never be considered drinkable without 
having first been boiled or filtered. Water may 



218 ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUKE 

look clear and pure and yet be dangerous to health. 
The thing that most often pollutes water supplies 
is sewage. Sewage is the term given to house refuse 
such as grease, soap, and human waste. It has in 
it millions of microbes or bacteria, some of which, 
if taken in drinking water, cause typhoid fever, 
others the cholera. Typhoid is one of the leading- 
causes of death in our country, and it is caused by 
drinking water or milk polluted by sewage. 

River Water. A river which has passed many 
towns in its course is not a safe water supply. Rivers 
will purify themselves if the water is allowed to run 
many miles without receiving a fresh supply of 
sewage, but when they have been the receiving place 
for the sewage of many cities the water becomes so 
laden with deadly bacteria that epidemics of typhoid 
have been known to break out in several towns 
along the stream at the same time. 

Mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are troublesome and 
dangerous pests which carry the germs of human 
disease. Malaria is spread by mosquitoes, and in 
no other way. The malaria microbes are taken into 
the system of the mosquito with the blood sucked 
from people troubled with disease. In the body of 
the mosquito, the malaria microbe undergoes a 
change that is necessary to its life, so if all mos- 
quitoes were destroyed, malaria microbes could not 
thrive and spread. "When the mosquito attacks a 
well person, some of the microbes pass from it to 
the human system as the insect sucks the blood. 



FARM SANITATION" 219 

Yellow fever is also spread by a certain kind of 
mosquito which is common in our Southern states. 
By destroying the water breeding places, the yellow 
fever has been stamped out of such cities as New 
Orleans. Mosquitoes on the farm may be disposed 
of by draining pools of standing water so the pest 
cannot multiply. Large ponds may be covered with 
oil so the "wigglers" which hatch into mosquitoes 
can not get air at the surface of the water. Barrels 
or other vessels filled with water must be emptied 
or covered with oil. 

The House Fly. The eggs of flies are laid in wet, 
decaying refuse, such as manure, slop, dead animals, 
garbage, and human waste. The eggs hatch into 
maggots which feed upon these materials and grow 
rapidly. Then they cover themselves with a leather- 
like case and are quiet a few days, after which they 
come forth as full-grown flies. It requires only a 
few days for the egg to grow into an adult fly. A 
few flies live through the winter, and these start 
broods in the early spring. By the end of summer 
there are flies Avithout number. 

Flies as Disease Carriers. Flies carry upon their 
feet and mouths the germs of disease. They visit 
all sorts of filthy places to lay their eggs and after- 
wards approach our kitchens in search of food, and 
wherever they crawl they scatter disease germs. 
The house fly has been called the typhoid fly. 

Fighting Flies. There are two ways to protect 
the family from flies. One is to clean up all garbage 



220 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



piles and filth where flies breed and to sprinkle 
diluted carbolic acid about such places frequently. 
Carbolic acid drives away the flies and kills many 
typhoid and other disease germs. The other remedy 
is to screen the house thoroughly, especially the 




Fig. 107. A sanitary dairy barn. 

kitchen and living rooms. No house is complete 
until it is fitted w^itli screens. 

Milk a Germ Carrier. It is known that milk 
spreads diphtheria and tuberculosis as well as 
typhoid fever. The typhoid germs are in the water 
in which the cans are washed. The ceiling of the 
cow stable should be dust-proof and the floor ce- 
ment, so it may be washed often. Some apparently 



FARM SANITATION 221 

healthy cows have tuberculosis and in many places 
where milk is sold to cities the cows are examined 
and tested for this disease. 

Ventilating the Barn. The average barn is not 
very tightly built and plenty of air enters for the 
stock through the cracks, but the newer barns are 
now built tight and warm, and in this case some 
means should be planned to ventilate, because bad 
air is the cause of the spread of tuberculosis among 
cows as well as among the human family. Window 
ventilation is far better than none, but the cold draft 
should not strike the cows and other stock. (Fig. 
107.) 

Cold Air Heavier than Warm. Every boy and 
girl knows that cold air is heavier than warm air 
and so the warmest air in the room is always near 
the ceiling. One reason smoke goes up the chimney 
is because it is carried up by warm, light air, while 
heavy, cold air is crowding in to take the place left 
by the warm air. 

Best Barn Ventilation. The best way to ventilate 
any building, home, school, or barn that must be 
kept warm is to take out the colder air near the 
floor instead of the warm air near the ceiling. For 
this purpose there should be an air shaft leading 
from near tlie floor to the roof to carry out the air. 

Home Ventilation. The best way to heat and 
ventilate a home is probably the hot-water system, 
placing the radiators in each room near the wall. 
Behind each radiator is an opening through the 



222 



ELEMENTARY AGEICULTURE 



wall. The outside fresh air comes in through the 
radiator that warms it. Beside the chimney are 
air vents leading from points near the floor of the 
room to the attic. The cold air of the room enters 
these air vents near the floor and passes to the attic, 
where openings lead to the outside. The heat of 
the chimney keeps the air vents warm, causing them 




Courtesy of the Smith Heating Co. 

Fig. 108. A well-ventilated country school. 

to draw the colder air out of the room like another 
chimney. The hot pipes that extend to radiators 
on the second floor might be arranged to extend up 
the other air vents, heating the air and sucking 
the cold air out of other rooms. Each bedroom 
should be well ventilated either by an air vent along 
the chimney or by an open window. Bedrooms 
ought never to be less than ten by twelve feet, with 
a ceiling not lower than eight feet. 

School Ventilation. These same principles of 
ventilation apply to schoolhouses. Where the 



FAKM SANITATION 223 

schools are consolidated in one large central build 
ing the fan system to drive the air in and out is 
the best in use. There are now excellent ways of 
heating and ventilating one-room schools without 
opening windows, and no country schoolhouse can 
afford to be without such a moderate priced bless- 
ing. (Fig. 108.) The illustration shows a heating 
and ventilating system where the fresh outside air 
passes in near the furnace and is warmed. It then 
circulates as the arrows indicate. The cold, foul 
air near the floor is drawn out by the opening intc 
a separate chimney flue at the floor level. The best 
way to prevent and to fight tuberculosis, either 
among cows or human beings, is with plenty of 
good, fresh fair. Keeping the house and the barn 
supplied with plenty of fresh air and sunlight is the 
greatest safeguard to health. 

School Lighting. The only perfect way of light- 
ing a schoolroom is from the top, which is nature's 
plan. (Fig. 109.) The children's eyes should be 
protected from the strong light from side windows, 
because the eye, like a camera, can adjust itself to 
but one intensity of light at a time. The strong 
glaring windows cause the pupil of the ej^e to close 
so much as to make all objects in the room look dim 
and the eyes are strained, trying to see clearly. 
The only way to secure a well-distributed, even 
light is from skylights, and country schools, being 
of one story, can easily be provided with them, and 
the protection to the children's eyes justifies the cost. 



CHAPTER XXVI 
THE FAEMER'S COLLEGE 

Educating the Farmer. When the farmers have 
good crops, the whole country is happy, and business 
is good. A crop failure not only harms the farmer, 
but causes the wheels of industry and business to 
stop, and the result is hard times. Thus, you see, 
the entire country is interested in good crops. 

The United States Government has become greatly 
concerned about the farmer's success and has estab- 
lished a college for farmers called the Department 
of Agriculture. This department is located at 
Washington, but it has branches in every state in 
the Union. It is not like the ordinary college, for 
farmers cannot leave their crops and stock to attend 
it. The Department of Agriculture has hundreds of 
learned men studying and experimenting all the 
time. They are finding out all about soils and farm 
crops, about animals, their care and diseases, about 
plants and their enemies. Everything that will help 
the farmer to raise splendid crops, this college is 
learning about. And they will send out to any 
farmer who asks for it, all the wonderful knowledge 
that has been discovered. 

Learning the Best Way. Now, instead of guess- 
ing at what is best to do, or depending upon the 
advice of a neighboring farmer, who may be even 

225 



226 ELEMENTARY AGEICULTUEE 

more ignorant than ourselves, we can just drop a 
one-cent post card in the mail box or post office 
addressed like this; 

The Department of Agriculture, 
Washington, 

D. C. 
We may ask about any crop, or about soils and till- 
age, or about farm stock and how to raise and feed 
them, or how to destroy insects. In a few days 
comes a little booklet to us with all the latest knowl- 
edge about the things we are interested in. This 
college, or department, will even advise about farm 
buildings, farm machinery, poultry, and many kinds 
of wild game. If you are planning to build a hen- 
house, you had better learn the best way, as it costs 
nothing to find out. For some of these thousands 
of booklets, prepared for the help of the farmer, a 
small price of ten or fifteen cents is asked, but the 
most of them are free. What a wonderful thing it 
is to have a real education in farming! The Gov- 
ernment is spending millions of dollars each year 
to help the farmer, and thousands of intelligent 
farmers and their boys are becoming students of 
agriculture. 

Not only will this department help the farmer 
and his sons with their problems, but the farmer's 
wife and daughters can get advice about milk, but- 
ter, and cheese, about canning fruit and how to 
preserve food, and about many other problems of 
the farm home. 



THE FARMEE'S COLLEGE 



227 



Experiment Stations. Ee sides the Department at 
Washington, every state has experiment stations 
where learned men are making tests of crops, ani- 
mals, and whatever the farmers of that particnlar 
state may wish to know. These experiment stations 
are also kept up with tax money, and the farmers 




>«p&*5^B&i-3Hilll^W3WA&*-J*«" 



Fig. 110. College of Agriculture, University of Wisconsin. 

have a right to the knowledge and discoveries made 
here. Booklets from the experiment stations are 
mailed free to any one engaged in farming. Should 
a disease of animals or plants suddenly break out 
in some community, a man will be sent upon request 
from the experiment station to advise and show the 
farmers how to fight the trouble. The farmers of 
Dakota have gained ten millions of dollars through 
the secrets learned at the experiment station about 
grain. We have learned that the Babcock test has 



228 ELEMENTAEY AGKICULTUKE 

cliaiii>vd the dairy industry of the whole world. Dr. 
Babcock is one of the clever men who has spent his 
life helping to solve the farmer's problems in the 
Wisconsin Exi)eriment Station. 

Colleges of Agriculture. If a boy is plucky he 
will gain much useful knowledge about farming 
from these booklets. But every state also has its 
school of agriculture, a real college where farmers' 
sons gather by the hundreds to study the problems 
of the farm (Fig. 110). Every young man who is 
looking forward to the farmer's life should resolve 
to take a course in such a college, even if it is only 
for a few months in winter. The farmer of the 
future will have to know more than those of the past 
in order to be successful. So one had best prepare 
well by taking a full course. If, however, a boy 
cannot be spared from the farm so long, or if he 
has not the funds to pay his way through a long 
course, there are shorter courses for him. Many 
wise farmers, who need their sons through the cro]) 
season, are sending them to some College of Agricul- 
ture year after year for the winter terms, when they 
can be spared from the farm. A few winters spent 
in this way will open the boy's eyes to many inter- 
esting and imi)ortant secrets of success. He will 
then no longer wish to leave the farm. The farm 
offers a delightful place on which to live, but in 
order to be successful one must have good training 
and good judgment. These, with industry, will 
bring happiness and prosperity. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUBS 

More Food Needed. The population of our coun- 
try is increasing very rapidly, much faster than the 
production of food; and so the cost of everything 
we eat is a great deal higher than formerly. Every 
citizen is, therefore, interested in increasing the 
farmer's crops by methods of scientific agriculture. 
Not only are the farmers anxious to improve crops, 
but business men, journalists, and statesmen are all 
helping along the movement. People are realizing 
more and more how closely their living, their pros- 
perity, and their business success are linked with the 
work of the farmer who produces the nation's food. 

The Whole Country Interested. Not only are 
farm journals teeming with suggestions and advice, 
but magazines and newspapers of all descriptions 
are spreading the great truths of scientific tillage 
and stock-raising. Business men's clubs are offer- 
ing prizes to boys for the best acre crops, and the 
champion corn raisers are getting large money 
prizes and often splendid trips to the state or 
nation's capital with all expenses paid. President 
Eoosevelt during his term of office appointed a com- 
mission consisting of eminent men to study country 
life and make such recommendations as seemed wise 
to them. 

229 



230 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 

Agriculture in Schools. The principles of agri- 
culture are rapidly being introduced into tlie rural 
schools as part of the course of study. Thirteen 
states now require the teaching of agriculture in 
the common schools. It is also encouraged and 
taught in thirty-one other states, which have not 
as yet required it by law. This makes in all forty- 
four states where agriculture is being taught in some 
measure. Many city schools are also attempting 
some work in connection with school gardens. 
(Fig. 97.) 

Field Agents. The Department of Agriculture 
has been studying and investigating for a long time, 
and they have been sending out millions of copies 
of pamphlets to any one asking for them. But 
since so many farmers are not alive to their need 
for instruction and are not reading these pamphlets, 
the Department is now sending out expert men as 
field agents (Fig. Ill) to meet the farmers and to 
encourage them to form for their own improvement 
such organizations as cow-testing associations and 
the like. For boys there are Cotton Clubs, Corn 
Clubs, and numerous others; while for girls there 
are such organizations as the Girls' Garden Clubs 
and Tomato Canning Clubs. (Fig. 112.) 

Club Movement Spreads. The club movement 
among country boys and girls has grown in a re- 
markable way. At the close of June, 1913, there 
were 60,000 club members doing the regular club 
work of raising a crop under the special instructions 



BOYS' AND GIELS' CLUBS 



231 



furnished by the Department of Agriculture. Aside 
from the clubs already mentioned are Good Eoads 
Clubs, Poultry Clubs, Vegetable Garden Clubs, Sugar 
Beet Clubs, and Father and Son Clubs. 

Boys' Corn Clubs. The Corn Club idea started 
in the South in this way. The boys of a county 



k^~- 


BBir fl| 


^ 1l 


•^ 




r-V J 




fulfil 


f 


^m 




t 


^A 


^..■«v^ 


T 
t 




v'^l''4ft'z*^' 


i ^^^H^^^^^^^Ka jiP' <^^ ^^^jflttiil 




^^ 





Courtesy of U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

Fig. 111. Mr. 0. H. Benson, specialint in charge of National club 

work, conducting a School of Instruction in Home and 

School Canning Methods. 

were invited to join such a club and were assisted 
in forming the organization. During the winter they 
held meetings and studied the pamphlets received 
from the Department at Washington. These gave 
them information about selecting seed and fertilizer, 
and how to plant, cultivate, and harvest the crop. 



232 



ELEMENTAKY AGEICULTURE 




Courtesy of U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

Fig. 112. Play and covtefit a part of the game in National chit ivorlc. 

(Grading: i>]Jll, 30 (/r ; speed, 30%; tceiglit of 

peeling, 40%; Total, W0%.) 

In the early spring the boys selected seed and tested 
its power to grow, or germinate, by taking a few 
kernels from each ear of seed corn. 

The Crop. Then each boj^ was allowed an acre 
of gronnd and expected to keep a careful account 
of the money spent on his crop in labor and fer- 
tilizer. Even when he did the work himself he 
charged ten cents an hour against his crop and five 
cents an hour for each horse used. The rental value 
of the land was placed at $5 per acre and that, too, 
was charged against his crop, while for each load 
of manure another $2 was charged. 

Net Profit. When the crop was sold, the lad 
deducted from the amount of money he received for 



BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUBS 



233 



it, all the cost of raising, which included labor, fer- 
tilizer, and other expenses. What was left after 
this subtraction was clear gain or net profit, as 
business men call it. 

Growth of Corn Clubs. Corn Clubs have been 
organized in large numbers in the Southern and 
Central states, and they are doing a splendid work 
for every county in which they are found. The boys 
are ©pening the eyes of their parents and neighbors 
to the wonderful in- 
crease in the crop 
when some attention 
is given to scientific 
culture. (Fig. 113.) 

The 1912 Crop, 
For the season of 
1912 the average 
yield of all the Corn 
Club members who 
reported to the Of- 
fice of Farm Man- 
agement was 74.5 
bushels per acre. 
Fifteen club mem- 
bers made a yield 
of 140 or more 
bushels per acre. 
Sixty-one boys made over 120 bushels an acre. The 
average net profit an acre of all club members 
reporting was $25.55. 



^^^o^ 


r 




^^^^^^^p.l{ 


fe* 






I^^L^- 






pi 


/^H 




I'^-M 


1 ^^M 




m^ 





Courtesy of U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 

Fi(i. 113. ^1 Wisconsin cliih winner 
and Jiis prize hushel of seed corn. 



234 ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 

Illinois. The average yield of Corn Club mem- 
bers from Illinois Avas 79 bushels per acre, but 
eighty-six members made over 100 bushels an acre. 
There were more than 5,000 members in that state 
alone and $2,000 was given out as premiums to the 
high score boys. 

Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. Indiana, with 3,000 
members, grew an average of 78 bushels per acre. 
It is said that the work of the club members in 
Kentucky contributed $10,000,000 to the wealth of 
that state. One boy in West Virginia grew 140 
bushels, while four others raised 120 bushels or 
more. Ohio members who reported averaged 94V2 
bushels per acre. 

Father and Son Clubs. In Kentucky there are 
many Father and Son Clubs in which the father 
raises ten acres of corn alongside the son's one acre, 
and both follow the same careful instructions in 
selecting seed, planting, and cultivating. The cham- 
pion father and son of that state in 1912 were 
Herman Gallrein and his son, Edward G. Gallrein, 
aged fourteen. The son raised 146 bushels and 36 
pounds of white corn on his acre and his clear profit 
was $67.32. The father grew ten acres of the same 
kind of corn on land adjoining the boy's one acre; 
and his average per acre was 139 bushels and 45 
pounds, which brought a net profit of $69.91 per 
acre. Both cultivated their crops eight times, the 
first being a rather deep cultivation, while the seven 
others were shallow. 



BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUBS 



235 



Potato Clubs. Cumberland County in East Ten- 
nessee lias a schoolboys' Potato Club, that has 
taught the farmers of that section an important les- 
son. It had been supposed that potatoes were not 
a profitable crop in that state. It was claimed that 
the cost of raising an acre of potatoes there, includ- 




Courtesy of V. S. Dept. nf Ai;ii 



Fig. 114. Idaho boys and girls receiving field instructions on 
the diseases of the potato. 



ing labor, fertilizer, and the rent of the land, was 
about $75 per acre, while the crops raised hitherto 
at the rate of fifty ,cents a bushel brought a return 
of only $40 an acre. But the Bo^^s' Potato Club told 
a different story. One lad raised on one acre 384 
bushels and his net profit was $78. Another boy 
raised 379 bushels which gave him a net gain of 



236 ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

$111. Each of these lads received a $40 prize. There 
will now be more attention given to potato raising 
in East Tennessee. (Fig. 114.) 

Tomato Canning Clubs. The Girls' Canning 
Clubs are also doing splendid work in many coun- 
ties, especially in the Southern states. They are 
usually organized by women field agents from the 
Department at Washington. Each club member 
receives instructions about growing and canning 
vegetables, especially tomatoes. (Fig. 115.) They 
are learning to can this vegetable so it will keep; 
they are learning to make excellent catchup, chow- 
chow, chili-sauce, and other relishes. Many fine 
recipes are sent to them from Washington. They 
are also taught how to market their goods to the 
best advantage. 

Girls' Profits. The Virginia girl who made the 
best record for high yield in tomatoes in 1912 ob- 
tained 5,928 pounds of tomatoes from her tenth of 
an acre plot in that season. Many girls have made 
a profit of over $100 from their tenth-acre plots with 
one crop. One Mississippi girl is paying her way 
through the State Normal School by canning work. 

Prize Winning Girls in Washington. During four 
or five days of December, 1913, fifteen girls, one 
from each of the Southern states, had a free trip 
to Washington as a prize for high class work in 
tomato canning. They were the fortunate winners 
from 25,000 girls who were enrolled in the canning- 
clubs during that year. The prizes and trips are not 



BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUBS 



237 



furnished by the Government, but by public spirited 
people, — bankers, business men's organizations, and 
women's clubs. 

Seeing the President. For several years the state 
champion corn raisers have had the free trip to 
Washington. The winners of the several counties 
had their exhibits displayed at the county fairs, 




' '-Hi -.fsy of U. S. Del't. uf ABTicultur* 

Fig. 115. An Ohio girl in her Tomato Club iiJof. 



and the county winners were met by the state gov- 
ernor and the high score boys were sent otf with 
much applause to the nation's capital. They have 
usually visited the Secretary of Agriculture and 
called on the President at the White House. They 
have been everywhere treated as distinguished vis- 
itors. On one occasion they were invited to meet 



238 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUEE 

the Committee on Agiiciiltiire of the House of Rep- 
resentatives, and the chairman of that committee 
declared the boys' and girls' clubs movement to be 
the best work the Department of Agriculture had 
ever attempted. 

Getting Information. It is impossible in this 
short chapter to give all the information necessary 
to form any club, but all one wishes to know may 
be obtained from: Office of Farm Management, 
Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 

The Club and School. These clubs are the very 
best way of connecting the work of the country 
schools and the farm home. Parents and teachers 
are working together in this movement. Since the 
teacher is likely to be crowded with her work of 
teaching reading, arithmetic, and the other impor- 
tant subjects that the children must know, she can- 
not do very much experimenting in school hours in 
the way of agriculture. So the club which meets 
after school, in the evenings or on Saturdays, is the 
best means of teaching good practice in agriculture 
and home canning. In this way the entire neighbor- 
hood is receiving instruction. Our Government real- 
izes that the future of American agriculture is 
largely dependent on the boys and girls of to-day, 
and it is the purpose of this club movement to assist 
in instructing and directing the youth of our vil- 
lages and rural communities so that they will appre- 
ciate the fact that farming is a dignified, important, 
and profitable life work. 



PART III 
APPENDIX 



ONE THOUSAND QUESTIONS ON 
AGRICULTURE ANSWERED 

DRAWN FROM THE BEST WORE.S OX THE SUBJECT, ACCURATE 
AND UP-TO-DATE, AND WRITTEN IN SIMPLE LANGUAGE 

FOR TEACHEES AND FAEMEES 

Plant Life 

1. How many parts are there to a plant? 

There are five: (1) root; (2) stem; (3) leaf; (4) 
flower; (5) seed. 

2. What are the purposes of roots? 

Roots have three uses: to hold the plant in place 
and prevent its blowing away; to take nourishment 
and moisture from the soil; and to serve as storage 
places for plant food. 

3. What is a root cap ? 

The tip of the tender root has a little cap on the 
end to enable it to force its way among the soil par- 
ticles without injury. 

4. What are root hairs? 

They are a hair-like velvety growth covering the 
real roots. 

5. What is the use of root hairs? 

The root hairs present a much greater surface 
vii 



viii ELEMENTAKY AGKICULTUEE 

through which the plant may absorb food and 
moisture. 

6. Do not the real, or fibrous roots themselves absorb 

food and moisture? 

No, this is the work of the root hairs, which cover 
the fibrous roots. 

7. Do the root hairs have openings or mouths through 

which to take food? 

No, their walls are very thin and the plant food, in 
order to enter, must be in a soluble or watery form 
which passes through the thin walls of the root hairs 

8. What is the name or term of this passing of liquids, 

or exchange of liquids through thin partitions of 

membranes ? 

It is called osmosis. It is the same process by which 
food passes from the alimentary canal of animals into 
the blood. 

9. How does the real or fibrous root grow longer? 

The root grows only at the tip, and it does not grow 
straight, but in a winding fashion to take advantage 
of the openings between soil particles. 

10. What are the uses of plant stems? 

They support the leaves and hold them up in the 
air and sunlight. They serve also as storehouses for 
starch and sugar and other forms of plant food for the 
future use of the plant. The stems are also channels 
for the passage of sap through the plant. 

11. What is the office of the sap ? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS JX 

It carries raw plant food from roots to leaves and 
then carries the manufactured food like starch and 
sugar to the place where it is needed to build up the 
plant or to the place of storage. 

12. What functions have leaves? 

To give off water to the air, to take carbon from the 
air, and to change raw plant food to starch and sugar. 
They are the food factory of the plant. 

13. In what form does carbon exist in the air? 

The air contains carbonic-acid gas, which is a com- 
pound of two elements, oxygen and carbon. It is also 
called carbon dioxide. 

14. Where does the air get the carbonic-acid gas ? 

It is exhaled or breathed off by all animal life. It 
is also given off by decaying plant life. 

15. How does the leaf get hold of this carbonic-acid gas? 

The air may enter the leaf through openings on 
the underside called stomata, the word meaning 
' ' mouths. ' ' 

16. How does the leaf separate the carbonic-acid gas into 

oxygen and carbon? 

The heat furnished by sunlight and the green color- 
ing matter of leaves called chlorophyll act together 
and separate the oxygen from the carbon. 

17. What becomes of the oxygen? 

It is given off to the air. 

18. What becomes of the carbon? 

It is combined with other food elements to make 



X ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

compounds such as starch or sugar, which are then 
ready to build up the plant. 

19. What other use have the stomata or mouths which 

cover the underside of leaves? 

They not only take air in, but they allow water or 
moisture in the leaf to escape through them into the 
air. 

20. Are these stomata always open? 

No, they may be opened or closed according to the 
weather. 

21. Why are they closed? 

In dry weather they are closed to keep moisture 
from passing too freely out of the leaves into the air. 

22. Is the green chlorophyll necessary to the manufacture 

of starch and sugar by plants? 

Yes, only those plants which have chlorophyll are 
able to use carbon dioxide from the air and change it 
in this way. 

23. Are there any plants that grow in the dark? 

Yes, mushrooms grow in dark places, but they have 
no chlorophyll and can get no food from the air nor 
from the real soil. Their food comes from partly 
decomposed matter in the soil. 

24. What is meant by the balance in nature? 

Animals need large quantities of oxygen which 
plants give off; while plants need large amounts of 
carbon dioxide which animals give off. What is poison 
or waste of animals is food for plants and vice versa. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS xi 

25. What four things are needed by plants besides plant 

food ? 

Plants need light, heat, moisture, and air. 

26. What is the main aim of life for all plants? 

It is to produce seed. 

27. What part of the plant has the work of bearing seed? 

The flower. 

28. Are all flowers alike in their parts? 

No, there are many variations in flowers. 

29. What parts has a perfect flower? 

A perfect flower has pistils and stamens. 

30. What is the office of the stamens? 

Stamens are the male part of the flower. They 
bear the yellow dust or pollen, which is needed to 
fertilize the pistil or female part to enable it to pro- 
duce seed. 

31. What are imperfect flowers? 

The flowers of many plants do not contain both 
male and female parts. Some have only stamens, oth- 
ers only pistils. 

32. How" do imperfect flowers bear seed? 

The pollen must be carried to the flowers having 
the pistil by some means. 

33. How is pollen carried? 

The pollen of corn, being light, is carried by the 
wind. In some cases it is carried by insects, such as 
bees. 

34. Why are some flowers bright and showy? 



Xii ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 

To attract the eyes of insects so that they will carry 
the pollen from the stamens to the pistils. 

35. Why are some flowers fragrant? 

For the same reason that they are bright in color, to 
attract insects. 

36. What is cross-pollination? 

Plants are cross-pollinated when the pollen is taken 
from one to another by some means. A number of 
varieties of apples, pears, peaches, and plums, will 
not bear fruit if grown by themselves; but they will 
bear abundantly if pollinated by other varieties that 
blossom at the same time. 

37. What is a seed? 

A seed bears within its coat a minute plant called 
a germ. 

38. What is the purpose of this germ or tiny plant? 

To develop into a new plant like the parent when 
proper conditions are offered. 

39. How can the seed begin to grow with no leaves in the 

air and no roots in the ground? 

Some nourishment prepared by the parent plant 
is stored up in the seed to feed it until it can put 
forth leaves and roots of its own. 

40. Where is this store of nourishment ? 

In the bean it is in the two seed leaves. In the 
corn kernel a store of starch is found about the germ. 

41. What part of the stem carries the water from the 

roots to the leaves? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS xiii 

In plants with netted vein leaves the water passes 
up mainly through ducts or conducting channels in 
the outer wood. 

42. Through what part of the stem does the manufactured 

food from the leaves or sap pass down to the roots? 
Just under the bark. 

43. How does girdling a tree kill it? 

Girdling starves the tree by preventing any food 
from passing down to the roots, which therefore shrivel 
and die. 

44. What forces the w^ater from the roots up through the 

stem to the leaves? 

It is the same power that carries oil up the lamp- 
wick, and is called capillary attraction. 

45. Why do fruit trees often die when they overbear? 

Nearly all the food made by the leaves is required 
to mature the large crop of fruit and not enough 
passes down to nourish the roots, so the tree sometimes 
dies the following spring. 

46. How are plants classified? 

They may be classified in different ways. One way 
is according to length of life — as annuals, biennials, 
and perennials. 

47. What are annuals? 

Annuals are plants that live only one year from 
the planting of the seed to the production of new seed. 

48. Name some farm annuals. 

Wheat, oats, barley, peas, beans, and tomatoes. 



xiv ELEMENTARY AGEICULTUEE 

49. Name some biennials with which the farmer deals. 

Biennials live two years from seed to seed. Such 
are cabbages, parsnips, and common mullein. 

50. What are some of the common perennials? 

Perennials live more than two years, such as aspar- 
agus, alfalfa, strawberries, bushes, and trees. 

51. How else are plants classified besides that of length of 

life? 

They are commonly classified according to use, into : 
forage crops, grain crops, root crops, fiber crops, fruit 
crops, vegetable crops, ornamental plants, and timber 
crops. 

52. Name the forage and fodder crops. 

Timothy, alfalfa, sorghum, eowpea, and corn fodder. 

53. What are included in the grain crops? 

Corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, and rice. 

54. Name the root crops'? 

Carrots, parsnips, turnips, mangels, beets, and sugar 
beets. 

55. What are the fiber crops? 

Flax, hemp, cotton. 

56. Name the common fruit crops. 

Apple, peach, pear, plum, quince, currant, black- 
berry, grape, orange, and banana are the most com- 
mon fruit crops. 
57 What are the chief vegetable crops ? 

Tomato, pea, bean, cucumber, and celery. 
58. How does the botanist classify plants ? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS XV 

According to likeness of characteristics he groups 
them into families and gives them Latin names. 

59. How does nature scatter plant seeds? 

Plants have developed different methods of scatter- 
ing seeds. Some, like the cocoanut, will float on water, 
others, like the maple seed, are provided with wings. 

60. How are animals helpful in scattering seeds? 

The burdock and sticktights cling to animals and 
ride away to new homes. 

61. Have birds any chance to assist? 

Some plants have bright attractive seeds that taste 
good to birds and they scatter them in their flight. 

62. What are some of man's methods of disseminating 

plants ? 

By using seeds, roots, cuttings, buds or grafts, man 
spreads the plants far and wide. 

63. What are grown from seeds? 

Nearly all farm crops. 

64. Why is this the simplest and easiest method? 

Because seeds are usually produced in great num- 
bers, are easily gathered and stored, and they may be 
easily planted. 
Go. How are sweet potatoes and sugar cane planted? 

From cuttings — a whole or a part of the sweet potato 
and a joint from the sugar cane. 
66. Why are not apples and potatoes raised from the seed ? 
Because the seed of these plants does not produce 
new plants true to the variety of the parent. 



xvi ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

THE FARMER AND THE SOIL 

1. In choosing a farm what are the two chief points of 

value to consider? 

The economic, or money-making, value and the home 
value. 

2. What is meant by the home value? 

The farm home should be in a healthful location, 
near to schools, churches, and desirable neighbors. 

3. Which should be considered first, the home or the 

economic value? 

If one intends to live on the farm, the home value 
should have the first consideration. 

4. Should a farmer invest all his capital in land? 

If it is in a pioneer country where land values are 
certain to rise, one may be safe in investing all the 
capital in land. But in older communities the higher 
the price of land, the lesser proportion of one's capital 
should be invested in the bare land. 

5. When should a farmer locate near a market? 

When he intends producing cream, milk, or fruit, or 
even grain, for market. 

6. When could a farmer afford to locate farther from a 

market or shipping point ? 

When he raises stock almost entirely, because they 
can be easily driven some distance to the shipping 
point. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEKS xvii 

7. Is it wise to pay more for a farm near a transconti- 

nental railroad? 

Yes. It costs more to ship when two roads must be 
used to reach the great city market. Better live on 
a through line two hundred miles from Chicago, New 
York, or Pittsburgh, than to live fifty miles and have 
to change roads. 

8. How far may milk and grain be hauled to market with 

profit ? 

Three miles is as far as a farmer can profitably haul 
his own milk, while five miles is a long haul for grains. 
For stock, ten miles is not far to market. 

9. What bearing do wagon roads have upon farming? 

One may travel two miles over a hard road with easy 
grades more easily and quickly than over one mile of 
muddy or hilly roads. 

10. What other elements should be considered in locating? 

Electric and telephone lines add to the value of 
farms, especially the former. The occupation of the 
other farmers may help to advertise a section for fruit 
or fine stock and thus bring buyers that way. 

11. Is it possible to put too much capital in buildings? 

For general farming it hardly seems wise for money- 
making uses to invest in buildings of all kinds more 
than one-fourth the value of the entire farm. 

12. For an investment, which is better — a farm with no 

improvements or one with extensive improvements? 
Better than either is a farm with only moderate 



xviii ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUEE 

improvements and yet sufficient for the conduct of 
the farm. 

13. Why did the American farmer a century ago succeed 

without much knowledge of the soil? 

Because for countless ages nature had been storing 
up plant food in the virgin American soil, and crops 
did well if only half cared for. 

14. How does farming here to-day differ from that of the 

olden day? 

The virgin soil has nearly all been taken up, and it 
has been abused and worn out in many localities. 
Knowledge and skill are now needed to keep from 
exhausting all our lands and to make them yield what 
they did formerly with little labor or science. 

15. Upon what does the profit of the farm depend? 

Upon the size of the crops and more especially upon 
the yield per acre, provided the expense is not in- 
creased unduly. 

16. Can a farmer increase the yield per acre faster than 

the expense is increased ? 

Yes. It has been proven many times that the present 
average of crops can be doubled at but slight advance 
in cost. 

17. What practice of farmers has contributed most toward 

exhausting the soil ? 

Raising the same crop on a given field year after 
year for forty or fifty years without fertilizing or 
manuring or rotating. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES xix 

18. How do we know that different plants take different 

amounts of plant foods from the soil? 

Chemists have analyzed various plants and thus 
ascertained what elements they contain and in what 
proportion. 

19. How many elements in the soil? 

Between seventy and eighty are known. 

20. Why are they called elements? 

Because scientists have not been able to separate 
them into simpler substances. 

21. Are most materials that we know simple elements? 

No, most materials are compounds, that is, they are 
combinations of two or more elements combined in 
different amounts or proportions. 

22. What are some compounds that are different articles 

because of the differing proportions of their ele- 
ments ? 

Alcohol, sugar, starch, and fats all contain the same 
elements — carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen — but in dif- 
ferent proportions. 

23. Are there many compounds in a single plant ? 

Yes, but they may be separated and known. 

24. What proportion of corn plant is water? 

Of 1,000 pounds of mature corn plant nearly 800 are 
water, 12.7 pounds are hydrogen and 88.9 pounds are 
oxygen ; and since both the hydrogen and oxygen come 
from water, nearly 900 pounds of the 1,000, or nine- 
tenths of the corn plant, is water. 



XX ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

25. Is this nine-tenths of the plant's weight all the water 

it needs to grow? 

No, only a small part, for the leaves are constantly- 
giving off moisture to the air, and it is from this mois- 
ture that the plant obtains mineral foods. 

26. For each pound of dry matter of the plant how many 

pounds of water does the plant use? 
About three hundred pounds of water passes through 
the plant for each pound of dry matter produced. 

27. How much water is needed by an acre of good corn 

during the growing period? 

About nine hundred tons — an amount that, if spread 
over the acre, would be nearly eight inches deep. 

28. Does this nine hundred tons include the water lost by 

the land by drainage? 

No, about as much water runs away and passes down 
beyond the reach of the roots as is used by the crop, 
so that about eighteen hundred tons of water should 
fall upon an acre of growing corn. 

29. How does the plant obtain all the moisture? 

It all comes from the ground through the roots, 

30. How else is water useful to plant life besides being 

a plant food? 

It not only furnishes about ninety per cent of the 
plant's weight but it dissolves other plant foods in 
the soil and puts them in shape to be taken up in liquid 
form by the rootlets. 

31. "What makes a plant wilt on a very hot day? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES xxi 

It wilts because the leaves are giving off moisture to 
the air faster than the roots can supply it to the plant. 

32. Is there any other factor so important to plant life 

as is proper moisture? 

No. More soils fail to produce good crops for lack 
of moisture than for any other cause. Too much stress 
cannot be laid upon the importance of an adequate 
supply of water in soil. 

33. Do plants get an}^ food from the air ? 

Nearly one-half of the dry matter in the plant con- 
sists of an element called carbon, all of which comes 
from the air in the form of carbonic-acid gas. 

34. Is carbonic-acid gas pure carbon? 

No, it is a compound of carbon and oxygen, but the 
plants separate these elements, retain the carbon, and 
set the oxygen free. 

35. How can the plant separate these elements? 

The green coloring matter of the leaves, called chlo- 
rophyll, with the help of the heat energy furnished 
by sunlight, breaks apart the carbon and oxygen. 

36. Is sunlight necessary to this process ? 

Yes, plants grow more vigorously in full sunlight 
than in shade, and at night this growing process ceases. 

37. "Will not plants germinate in the dark? 

Yes. They grow until they use up the food stored 
in the seed, but they have no power to use the food 
in the air and soil, for both chlorophyll and sunlight 
are necessary to do this. Analysis shows that the plant 



xxii ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

grown in the dark contains less dry matter than was 
present in the seed. 

38. What does the plant make of carbon? 

It causes the carbon to combine with water and 
mineral matter which are taken through the roots, 
and these elements form carbohydrates, proteids, and 
other compounds of which the plant is composed. 

39. Is it necessary for the farmer to buy carbon to fer- 

tilize his soil? 

No, the atmosphere furnishes free an inexhaustible 
supply of carbon for all vegetation. 

40. "What is the most costly plant food? 

Nitrogen. 

41. Do plants contain a high percentage of nitrogen? 

Not at all. Nitrogen forms only from one to three 
per cent of the dry matter, or about one-half of one per 
cent, of the green plant. But a crop must have this 
proportion available in order to thrive. 

42. Where do plants get their supply of nitrogen? 

From the soil only. 

43. Where does the soil get nitrogen to supply growing 

crops ? 

A small part comes directly from the atmosphere 
brought by rain water. But most of the nitrogen is 
taken from the air and stored in the soil by bacteria 
which live in small swellings, or nodules, on the roots 
of certain plants called legumes, such as clover, alfalfa, 
soy bean, cowpea, and the like. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS xxiii 

44. How can the farmer assist these bacteria? 

By stirring the soil so air can enter it, for bacteria 
cannot live without oxygen from the air. 

45. What other aids are known? 

These bacteria cannot live in an acid soil, so an appli- 
cation of lime, by neutralizing the acid, sweetens the 
soil and renders it an agreeable home for the bacteria. 

46. Is there more than one kind of bacteria in the soil? 

Yes, there are many kinds. In fact, those that grow 
on clover roots differ even from those on alfalfa or 
other legumes. 

47. Do all soils contain all these nitrogen-gathering 

bacteria ? 

No. Many soils will not grow a leguminous crop 
until the right bacteria have been introduced into the 
particular fields. 

48. How are they introduced and what is the process 

called? 

It is called inoculation and consists in taking soil 
from lands that have been growing the particular 
legume and scattering this upon the new fields, from 
one hundred to three hundred pounds per acre, and 
working it in before the bacteria die from surface 
exposure. 

49. Is there no other way of supplying nitrogen to our 

soil save by raising legumes with their nitrogen- 
gathering bacteria? 
Yes, one may use freely stable manure which is rich 



Xxiv ELEMENTAEY AGKICULTUEE 

in nitrogen, or one may buy fertilizer containing nitro- 
gen; but such fertilizer is very expensive. The best 
method of fixing nitrogen in the soil is by raising a 
legume such as clover, alfalfa, or cowpea. 

50. What part of the green plant comes originally from 

the atmosphere? 

Including water, ninety-eight and one-half per cent 
comes from the air free of cost and the supply of these 
elements of food in the air is beyond control. 

51. Are there many elements of food in the other one and 

one-half per cent of green plants ? 

Yes, about a dozen, but the three needing the farm- 
er's attention are nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and 
potash, which are used by plants in larger quantities 
than the other elements. 

52. Are not the other elements as recessary as these ? 

Yes, but most soils contain the other elements in 
abundance. Occasionally soils are found that are defi- 
cient in lime, but in most cases sufficient lime is present 
for all plant growth. 

53. Is all the nitrogen or phosphorus or potash in a given 

soil available to plants at once? 

No. The greater portion of them is locked up in 
compounds in such a form that plants cannot get hold 
of them. 

54. Is there danger of exhausting the available portions 

of these elements? 

Yes, constant cropping of cereals, especially wheat. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS XXV 

without rotation will practically exhaust the available 
nitrogen. 

55. Is there any way the farmer can assist nature to change 

the complex compounds into simpler forms, so the 

elements may be available to plants? 

Yes, the most helpful assistance is through good 
tillage. By tillage is meant stirring and pulverizing 
the soil by means of plows, harrows, cultivators and 
the like, either before or after the crop is sown. 

56. In what way does pulverizing the soil help ? 

It loosen the soil and makes it easier for the plant 
roots and root hairs to penetrate the soil. 

57. How is plant food taken from the soil into the rootlets ? 

No plant food can be taken up except in solution. 
Plant roots are covered with innumerable tiny hairs 
which drink in the liquid food. 

58. Are there openings or mouths in the root hairs? 

No, but the walls are so thin that the watery food 
easily passes through. 

59. Is it possible for root hairs to penetrate solid or hard 

earth clods? 

No, they are tender and can only push their way 
between the soil grains; and if the soil is not pulver- 
ized, they are barred from entering at all. 

60. Where do the root hairs feed? 

On the surface of the soil grains. The better the soil 
is pulverized the more surface is exposed to the root 
hairs and the more food they get from the soil. 



XXVI 



ELEMENTAKY AGEICULTUKE 



61. How does pulverizing increase the area of soil exposed 

to root hairs? 

A cube two inches each way presents a surface of 
twenty-four square inches. If this cube is cut into 
eight smaller cubes the exposed surface is doubled. 
As this breaking up continues the surface area increases 
amazingly. 

62. Besides increasing the area of soil particles and making 

room for more root hairs, how else does tillage help ? 

Stirring the soil brings different particles into con- 
tact and having different elements they act chemically 
upon each other, releasing plant food by breaking up 
compounds. 

63. "What effect does tillage have upon air in the soil ? 

Tillage introduces more air into the soil, and the 
oxygen of air is needed by the roots of all farm crops. 
Oxygen makes seeds germinate, and it helps to make 
the mineral elements soluble in water so plants can get 
them. 

64. What effect does air have upon organic matter in the 

soil? 

The oxygen of air helps to decompose organic matter 
in the soil, and to put it in form to be used by growing 
plants. 

65. Are there bacteria in the soil that help the decay of 

organic matter? 

Yes, and these bacteria cannot live without the 
oxygen of air. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES xxvii 

66. Where do the bacteria that live on the roots of legumes 

get the nitrogen which they store up in the roots of 

the plant? 

They get it from the air alone. 

67. Do they come to the surface for air? 

No, the air must be in the soil and the looser and 
better pulverized the soil, the more air there is in it. 

68. What effect has tillage upon moisture in the soil? 

It enlarges the water supply by giving the soil 
greater capacity for holding moisture. 

69. How is the water-holding capacity of soil increased by 

tillage ? 

Each soil grain is covered by a thin film of water, 
and the finer the grains of soil, the greater surface 
area on a cubic foot of them and the more water they 
will hold on their surface. 

70. If good tillage breaks the soil particles into grains only 

one-tenth their former size, what effect has this upon 
the extent of surface of the particles ? 
Keducing the size to one-tenth, multiplies the surface 
area by ten. 

71. If the soil particles of an acre of soil were reduced 

to one-tenth, would it make the one acre equal to ten 

acres ? 

Yes, it would supply ten times as much moisture and 
mineral matter to the crop, or as much as ten acres 
not so tilled. 

72. What is more important than moisture for the farmer ? 



xxviii ELEMENTAKY AGRICULTUEE 

Moisture in the soil is one of the farmer's chief 
problems because ninety per cent of his crop comes 
from water. 

73. Do crops ordinarily get sufficient water? 

No, they seldom get enough water for the maximum 
yield. 

74. Can the farmer influence rainfall? 

No, but by good tillage he can save for his crops a 
large part of the water that may otherwise go to waste. 

75. How can he do this? 

By good tillage and finely -pulverized soil, the ground 
is made to absorb and hold a large amount of water, 
and a dust mulch helps to retain this moisture for the 
growing crop. 

76. What is meant by a dust, or earth, mulch? 

It is a finely-pulverized surface of two or three 
inches that prevents evaporation of soil water. 

77. How is this explained? 

Where the ground is firm, water is drawn up from 
below by capillary attraction as oil passes up a lamp- 
wick, and the soil water evaporates rapidly into the air. 
Fine tillage breaks up this capillary attraction and a 
finely pulverized surface acts as a blanket to prevent 
this evaporation. 

78. Are there other ways of preventing this loss of soij 

water ? 

Yes, by covering the ground with loose straw or hay, 
or even with weeds, evaporation may be prevented. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES xxix 

79. What kind of cultivation makes the most effective dust 

mulch ? 

The cultivation should be shallow and frequent with 
the aim of making a surface layer as fine and dry as 
possible. 

80. How does rain affect a surface mulch ? 

It hardens or forms a crust on the surface and capil- 
larity starts again. 

81. Should the farmer cultivate after each rain? 

Yes, for the best results. 

82. Is cultivation needed in the absence of rain? 

Yes, the soil will become too compact if left without 
stirring. 

83. During what season should the soil be stirred most 

frequently ? 

In the spring, in order to hold the water from spring 
rains, 

84. Can one make a mulch on a sandy soil? 

Yes, sandy soils produce better results from mulch- 
ing than clays or loams. 

85. What advantage has late fall plowing for spring crops ? 

It prevents evaporation and enables the soil to absorb 
more water from the winter rain and snow. 

86. Is it well to plow all soils in the fall ? 

No, it is better not to plow hard soils that are low 
in humus. 

87. Does early spring plowing help to increase soil water? 

Certainly, the wise farmer always plows early. 



XXX ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 

88. Is it possible to plow too early? 

Not if the ground is right and not too wet. 

89. What other advantage has tillage? 

Tillage destroys weeds which rob the crop of mois- 
ture and plant food. All growing plants pump up 
water through their roots and give it off through the 
leaves. 

90. What two forms of water exist in the soil ? 

Film moisture and ground water. 

91. How does ground water differ from film moisture ? 

Film moisture is a thin coat of moisture on each soil 
grain. Ground M^ater occupies the spaces between the 
soil grains. 

92. What is the surface of this ground water called? 

It is called the water table. 

93. How near the surface is the water table? 

In some soils it is very near the surface, while in 
others it is many feet below. 

94. How can one find out the depth of the water table? 

By sinking a hole to such a depth that the water 
will stand in it. The level of the water in the hole is 
the same as the water table. 

95. In what kind of ground is the water table at the level 

of the ground? 

In marshes and swamps. 

96. What objection is there to a high water table ? 

When the level of the ground water is near the sur- 
face of the soil, it limits the space where plant roots 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS xxxi 

may feed, for they will not penetrate soil that is 
water-soaked. 

97. Why will not roots penetrate water-soaked soil? 

Because roots must have air about them, and water 
drives out air. 

98. Will not plant roots go below the water table ? 

No, this is why plants can not be made to grow in 
^wampy land. 

99. How may a farmer lower the water table ? 

By under drainage with tile. 

100. How will tiling improve the soil? 

The tile carry off all stagnant water near the sur- 
face and lower the water tal)le, thus rendering a deeper 
soil for the plant roots. 

101. What changes follow the lowering of the water level? 

Air, with its oxygen and carbonic-acid gas, enables 
roots, earthworms, and bacteria to reach a greater 
depth. 

102. Why is well-drained soil safer from drought ? 

Because good drainage enables the roots to penetrate 
deeper and because plants live on film moisture which 
is increased by good drainage. Roots will not pene- 
trate free water. 

103. Do not tile drains carry away too much of the rain 

water in dry weather? 

No, because the water does not reach the drain unless 
the rainfall is excessive enough to raise the level of 
free water in the soil to the drain pipes. 



xxxii ELEMENTARY AGRTCULTUEE 

104. Do tile drains carry off film moisture in the soil ? 

No, only the free, or ground, water which keeps 
roots from reaching down deep into the soil. 

105. Is it ever well to tile-drain high lands? 

Sometimes with heavy clay soils it is, because the 
subsoils will allow water to pass through them so 
slowly that it is about the same as a water table. 

106. How does tiling affect such soils ? 

It makes these soils more mellow, and they respond 
to tillage better. 

107. What is humus ? 

It is formed by the decay of organic matter, and it 
gives a rich black appearance to the soil. The black 
mould under the leaves in the forest is humus. 

108. What are the sources of humus ? 

In most cases it comes from the decay of plants 
which have been previously grown on the soil, but 
it may also come from manures. 

109. How does cropping affect the amount of humus ? 

Continued cropping, with no way of replacing the 
humus, reduces it one-third or even one-half. 

110. Why is humus needed in the soil ? 

Humus increases the poM^er of the soil to absorb and 
retain water. But more important than this, it fur- 
nishes elements of plant food. 

111. How does humus do this ? 

Humus in the soil acts like a sponge, but holds the 
water in such form that plants can get it. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS xxxiii 

112. Does humus contain plant food? 

Yes, it is a storehouse for plant food, especially for 
nitrogen. 

113. How else does humus aid crops? 

Humus enables plants to obtain more plant food 
from the soil. 

114. How may humus be restored to worn-out soils ? 

Plowing under green crops, which is called green 
manuring, is one method practiced by some good 
farmers. 

115. What is the best crop for green manures? 

Legumes not only add humus, as would other crops, 
but legumes also add nitrogen. 

116. Which crop of legumes seems best for green manure ? 

Red clover is the most common; but cowpea, soy 
bean, or the ordinary field bean or field pea may be 
used to plow under. 

117. What danger is there in green manuring? 

In a dry season the growth of a crop to plow under 
may use up most of the moisture, leaving the following 
crop too little to grow well. 

118. Is green manure needed on stock farms? 

No, because the crop to be plowed under makes fine 
feed, and it is more profitable to feed it and return 
the manure to the soil. 



xxxiv ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 



FERTILIZERS 

1. What is the oldest fertilizer? 

Barnyard manure. 

2. Is its popularit}^ justified? 

Yes. It has proven its importance. 

3. What is the estimated value of the manure produced 

by an animal in a year? 

If all is saved that from the horse is worth twenty- 
seven dollars ; from the steer, twenty dollars ; from the 
hog, eight dollars. 

4. What kind of manure is most valuable? 

Sheep manure is richest in fertilizer and horse 
manure is second. 

5. What elements in manure render it valuable? 

The phosphoric acid, potash, and nitrogen are the 
chief elements. 

6. Why do horse and sheep manure heat while others do 

not? 

Probably because that from the horse and sheep 
contain less water. 

7. Does the kind of feed given affect the manure ? 

]\Ianure varies with quality and quantity of feed. 

8. What feeds produce the best manures? 

Feeds high in nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash. 

9. Give a few feeds in the order of their value as fertilizer. 

Cottonseed meal, linseed meal, gluten meal, wheat 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEKS xxxv 

bran, and corn meal, rank in value in the order given. 

10. What elements do growing stock need in greater 

amounts than mature animals? 

They need nitrogen and phosphoric acid. 

11. What proportion of the fertilizer of the feed may 

be recovered in the manure? 

About eighty per cent on the average farm. 

12. What is the chief factor in determining the fertilizing 

value of a given manure? 
The age of the animal. 

13. What is the most valuable element iu manure ? 

Nitrogen, 

14. Why? 

Because nitrogen is usually present in larger quanti- 
ties, and it is more costly when purchased. 

15. What effect has bedding upon manure? 

The richer the bedding in fertilizer elements, the 
richer the manure. 

16. Is it economical to pile manure iu the open barn lot, 

exposed to the weather? 

No, the result is great loss, due to leaching from 
rains. 

17. Is open lot feeding advisable? 

No, the loss in manure from leaching is wasteful. 

18. What is the purpose of bedding? 

To absorb the liquid excrement which contains over 
one-half the value of the manure. 

19. What bearing has this upon the amount of bedding? 



XXXVl 



ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTURE 



There should be abundance of bedding to absorb all 
liquid waste. 

20. How does cutting bedding affect its absorbent powers ? 

Straw cut in one-inch lengths will absorb three 
times as much urine as long straw. 

21. "What other advantage comes from cutting bedding? 

The manure is in condition to be much more easily 
handled and less bedding is needed. 

22. Does stored manure lose strength? 

Yes. Nitrogen passes to the air m the form of 
ammonia which is noticed as a strong odor on a winter 
morning. 

23. Wliat is the best method to prevent loss in manure ? 

To haul it to the field as fast as it is made. 

24. What other advantages are there in immediate 

hauling ? 

Manure should be handled only once if its total value 
as manure is realized. 

25. If manure must be stored, what is the best manner? 

Stored manure loses by leaching due to rains and 
hot fermentation. Leaching is prevented by keeping 
manure under shelter or by placing it in water-tight 
pits or bins of cement. 

26. How may heating be prevented? 

By keeping manure in a compact heap so air cannot 
enter to enable bacteria to thrive. Each daily addition 
to the pile should be firmly packed into place. 

27. "What other treatment is needed? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEKS xxxvii 

Water will cool the pile and keep out air, so water 
should be added when necessary. 

28. "When manure is to be stored for some time, what added 

direction may be given? 

Cover the heap with a few inches of earth which 
will prevent the escape of ammonia. 

29. What is the best method of saving manure ? 

A covered barnyard is probably the best means. 

30. What advantage has this besides saving manure ? 

It saves labor as it is easy to gather the manure 
outside the stalls at any time, and it can be handled 
when the ground is right. 

31. How is exposed manure best cared for? 

By making the heap so high that the heaviest rains 
could not soak through it. 

32. What is the best manner of applying manure ? 

As a top dressing. 

33. What is the advantage of this method ? 

It is nature's way. As the fertilizer descends grad- 
ually, it feeds the plant roots, and it is not covered 
beyond their depth. 

34. What other advantage has top dressing? 

It acts as a mulch, preventing the escape of moisture 
from the soil. 

35. What objection is there to this method? 

It may interfere with tillage unless the manure is 
fine. 

36. Should manure be spread before or after harrowing? 



XXXVlll 



ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUEE 



It should oe spread after plowing, and then har- 
rowed into the soil. 

37. Should manure be left in piles in the fields? 

No, because this means a second handling and in- 
creases the labor. 

38. Are there other objections? 

In piles it is liable to lose by fermentation and by 
leaching; it makes the ground under the piles highly 
fertilized and thus the fields are spotty. 

39. What objections are there to a spotty field? 

Part of the crop may grow too rank and fall, and the 
crop is apt to mature unevenly. In either case there 
is a money loss to the farmer. 

40. What is the better way of spreading? 

Broadcasting from the wagon either by hand or by 
using a manure spreader. 

41. When coarse manure must be plo\\ed under what 
, caution is necessary? 

It should not be covered too deep especially in clay 
soils where the air may not reach it readily to assist in 
decay. 

42. How deep should it be covered? 

In clays, about four inches, but it may be much 
deeper in sandy soils. 

43. Is it possible to apply too much manure? 

Yes. In general one should not use more than eight 
or ten tons per acre. 

44. Is it well to try to cover the entire farm each year? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS xxxix 

No. It is better to manure only one crop in a rota- 
tion, thus covering only a part of the farm annually. 

45. How long is the efifect of manuring noticed ? 

It may affect crops for a dozen years or more, but 
each year the effect is less noticeable. 

46. All things considered, is there any fertilizer better than 

manure ? 

No. When barnyard manure has been properly 
cared for, it has no superior. 

47. How does selling crops from the farm affect fertility? 

The loss of fertility is much greater than where stock 
is fed or a dairy kept. 

48. Does stock farming or dairying actually rob the farm 

of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, or potash? 

No. It adds to the soil large quantities of nitrogen 
and some phosphorus, but a small amount of potash is 
lost. 

49. Does this mean that stock and dairy farming may 

actually increase the fertility of a farm? 

Yes. Where the ])arnyard manure is properly used 
in connection with leguminous crops and the best 
method of tillage adopted, the fertility may be in- 
creased without the purchase of any fertilizer. 

50. Where plants fail to grow, is it usually due to a lack 

of plant food? 

Not necessarily. Some soils are not sufficiently por- 
ous to allow plant roots to develop ; others may lack 
either moisture or drainage. 



xl ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTURE 

51. Is it possible to rely too much on fertilizer? 

Yes. Some farmers expect fertilizer to take the 
place of tillage. 

52. How did commercial fertilizer come to be used ? 

When it was discovered that certain elements in the 
soil are necessary to plant growth, farmers concluded 
to supply these elements artificially. 

53. How may commercial fertilizers be classified? 

Into three classes. Those made chiefly from nitrogen 
sources, those chiefly from phosphoric acid, and those 
chiefly from potash. 

54. Are there any wonderful secrets known only to certain 

manufacturers of fertilizer? 

No. Some salesmen pretend this is true in order to 
make sales. 

55. What is meant by the so-called "Complete fertilizer"? 

It is simi)ly a mixture of two or more basic mate- 
rials in order to give the required per cent of nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid, and potash. 

56. Where does the nitrogen usually come from? 

From animal refuse matter, from packing houses, 
soap and glue factories. 

57. What is dried blood? 

It is the blood from slaughter houses dried by heat- 
ing to a powder. 

58. Is there more than one kind? 

There is the red blood and the black blood. 

59. What is the difference ? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS xli 

The red blood is dried more carefully and not 
charred, while the black blood is dried more rapidly. 

60. Which is the more valuable fertilizer? 

The red blood contains from thirteen to fourteen 
per cent nitrogen, while the black contains from six to 
twelve per cent. 

61. What are meat meal, azotin, and ammonite? 

They are all the same thing — a meat product con- 
taining thirteen to fourteen per cent nitrogen. 

62. How much nitrogen in hoof meal? 

It contains about twelve per cent nitrogen. 

63. How valuable is horn meal? 

It contains from ten to twelve per cent nitrogen, 
but not in good form for plant food. 

64. What is tankage? 

It is the dried animal waste from slaughter houses, 
containing from four to nine per cent nitrogen and 
from three to twelve per cent phosphoric acid. 

65. What is fish fertilizer or guano? 

The oil of the fish is extracted and the remaining 
"pumace" is dried and ground for fertilizer. 

66. What elements of fertilizer does it contain? 

From eight to eleven per cent of nitrogen and three 
to five per cent of phosphoric acid. 

67. Is leather meal a good fertilizer? 

No, because it resists decay. 

68. What can be said in favor of sulphate of ammonia? 

It is a by-product of coal gas and coke, resembling 



xlii ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

common salt and is the richest in nitrogen of all fer- 
tilizing materials, containing from twenty to twenty- 
three per cent. 

69. What is nitrate of soda, or Chili saltpeter? 

It resembles salt, is entirely soluble in water, and 
is a very desirable nitrogenous fertilizer with from 
fifteen to sixteen per cent nitrogen. 

70. For early spring growing cro^is which fertilizer is best ? 

Chili saltpeter, because it is immediately ready for 
the plants. 

71. How does nitrogen compare in cost with the other ele- 

ments ? 

It is the most expensive, costing nearly three times 
as much per pound as phosphoric acid or potash. 

72. Is it usually advisable for the ordinary farmer to buy 

nitrogenous fertilizer ? 

No. It can best be supplied by the use of barnyard 
manures and by growing legumes. 

73. What is the source of the potash of fertilizer? 

Nearly all of it comes from the potash salt mines of 
Strassfurt, Germany. 

74. In what forms does it sell? 

Kainite, containing about twelve per cent potash ; 
muriate of potash, containing about fifty per cent; 
and sulphate of potash, with about fifty-three per cent. 

75. Do these furnish available plant food? 

Yes. All are soluble in water and available to 
plants. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS xliii 

76. flow is phosphoric acid obtained for fertilizer? 

From phosphates — the bones of dead animals and 
minerals containing pliosphates. 

77. How are bones treated for this purpose? 

Raw bone meal is made by grinding raw bones to 
a powder, the finer the better. 

78. How rich is bone meal in phosphorus? 

It contains twenty-two pei cent of phosphoric acid 
and four per cent nitrogen. 

79. Does bone meal decay rapidly? 

No, the elements in bone are only gradually avail- 
able to the crop. 

80. What is the value of steamed bon^ meal? 

Steaming removes the fat and some nitrogen, so 
that it contains about twenty-eight per cent phosphoric 
acid and one and one-half per cent nitrogen. 

81. Does steamed bone meal decay more rapidly than the 

raw? 

Yes. The removal of fat causes more rapid decay 
and so they are considered a better source of phos- 
phoric acid. 

82. What is bone tankage? 

It is merely bones mixed with tankage and contains 
from seven to eighteen per cent phosphoric acid. 

83. How valuable is bone black, or animal charcoal, as a 

fertilizer ? 

It is made by heating bone in air-tight vessels. It is 
first used to refine sugar and afterwards as a fertilizer. 



xliv ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

It contains from thirty-two to thirty-six per cent phos- 
phoric acid. 

84. Where are the mineral phosphates found? 

In the Carolinas and the neighboring states. 

85. How rich in plant food are they ? 

They contain from eighteen to thirty-two per cent of 
phosphoric acid. 

86. Is the phosphoric acid in mineral phosphates soluble 

in water? 

No, because of the lime combined with it. It is 
sometimes treated with sulphuric acid which unites 
with lime, leaving less lime with the phosphoric acid 
which thus becomes soluble in water. 

87. Why is it desirable to have the phosphate soluble in 

water ? 

Because it distributes itself through the ground 
better in this form. 

88. What are treated phosphates called? 

Superphosphates or manufactured phosphates. 

89. Should farmers buy cheap, low-grade fertilizer or a 

higher priced brand? 

The plant food is really cheaper per pound in the 
higher grade fertilizers. 

90. How are farmers protected from dishonest dealers? 

The manufacturers are required by law to guarantee 
the amount of nitrogen (or ammonia), the available 
phosphoric acid and potash that each brand contains; 
and this must be stated on each bag offered for sale. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS xlv 

91. How does lime aid the soil ? 

Lime changes the physical condition of sandy soils 
so as to make them hold water. Some soils may be 
deficient in lime. 

92. How does lime affect clays ? 

It makes clays more mellow. A soil rich in lime 

crumbles more easily and is more readily brought into 

• good condition for crops. It also helps to break up 

compounds so as to make their elements available for 

plants. 

93. Are there other uses of lime? 

Yes. It helps the growth of bacteria. It makes an 
acid, or sour, soil sweet. 

94. How is lime applied? 

It is drilled and afterward harrowed in. 



ROTATION OF CROPS 

Do all plants require food in the same proportion? 

No. Different crops vary in their food requirements. 
Why should not the same crop be grown continuously 

on the same soil? 

Such cropping will tend to exhaust certain plant 
foods needed by the crop, because some crops make an 
especial drain on one element of food. 

Do all crops require their food to be in the same simple 
form ? 



xlvi ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUKE 

Some require the food, especially the mineral matter, 
to be in a more soluble form than others. 

4. How do crops differ in their manner of root growth ? 

Some plants, like wheat, being shallow-rooted, are 
surface feeders while others extend their roots deeper. 

5. Why is it wise to rotate deep and shallow-rooted crops? 

Because they feed at different depths, and this plan 
will not exhaust the soil so quickly. 

6. What other reason for this method? 

The deep-rooted crops probably leave near the sur- 
face some food procured deeper in the soil. 

7. What is the effect of shallow-rooted crops following 

deep-rooted crops? 
They always do better. 

8. How does rotation affect the physical condition of the 

soil? 

Different crops receive different cultivation and the 
shortcomings of one crop treatment is corrected by 
the next, and thus the soil is kept in better condition. 

9. Does the different manner of rooting affect the soil? 

It is well to have the roots of stubble, clover, and 
grasses periodically left in the soil to decay. This 
improves the texture of the soil. 

10. What effect has rotation on labor ? 

Rotation distributes the care of crops throughout the 
season and thus economizes labor. 

11. What effect has rotation on the kind of labor em- 

ployed ? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS xlvii 

The farmer may keep regular help which is more 
reliable and efficient than transient help. 

12. Does rotation affect plant diseases? 

Most plant diseases are fungi or bacteria that live 
in only one kind of plant. Therefore rotation starves 
them out. 

13. What effect has rotation upon insects? 

Most insects, like the fungi, have their favorite crops, 
and as many of them can live only a few years, they, 
too, are starved out by rotation, because they cannot 
live till the crop on which they flourish is again sown. 

14. How does rotation affect w^eeds? 

Crops are cultivated differently and also harvested 
in different manners and at different times, and this 
tends to drive out weeds by striking them at their 
weak point. 

15. Does rotation affect insects that migrate? 

No, it does not. 

16. If land is badly infested with a certain weed, how can 

it be freed from it? 

By leaving out of the rotation the particular crop 
whose cultivation offers aid to this pest. 

17. What effect has rotation upon the size of crops? 

All experiments show much better crop yields where 
rotation is practiced. 

18. Can any general rules be given for planning rotation ? 

Every rotation should include at least one cultivated 
or hoed crop such as corn or potatoes, and one legume. 



xlviii ELEMENTAEY AGKICULTUEE 

19. Why is the hoed crop desirable ? 

It is useful in destroying weeds and improving tilth. 

20. Why should one leguminous crop be included? 

Because they are deep rooted, getting food from the 
subsoil; they increase the nitrogen supply in the soil 
and leave it more porous. 

21. What general rule may be given for rotation? 

The crops should vary as much as possible in their 
food requirements, manner of growth, root system, and 
in the season during which they occupy the ground. 

INSECTS ON THE FARM 

1. How may we identify insects? 

Insects have six legs when full-grown. 

2. Suppose the "bug" has eight legs? 

Then it is classed as a spider or its relative, a mite 
or a scorpion. 

3. What are sow bugs? 

They are bugs, having twelve or more legs, which 
live in damp places or in water. 

4. What are centipedes? 

Centipedes are many-legged worm-like creatures. 

5. What other qualities or parts has an insect besides six 

legs? 

Their bodies are divided into three parts : the head ; 
the thorax, or middle part ; and the hind part, or 
abdomen. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS xlix 

6. How do they migrate? 

Some have wings and fly, some jump, and a few 
crawl. 

7. Do all insects eat alike? 

No, some bite off and chew what they eat, while 
others only suck the juices or sap of plants or the blood 
of animals. 

8. Do insects have a steady growth ? 

* No, they shed their skins a number of times; and 
each new skin soon stretches to two or three times the 
size of the old one. 

9. Do the full-grown insects and the young ones look 

alike ? 

]\[ost full-grown insects look quite different from 
their young. The "grub worm" does not resemble its 
parent, , the June beetle ; the caterpillar is very differ- 
ent from its parent, the butterfly, or moth. 

10. What are some other illustrations of this difference? 

The "wiggler" in the rain barrel is the young of the 
mosquito; the maggot is the young of the green or 
bluebottle fly, that lays its egg on decaying meat. 

11. Describe the early stages of insect growth? 

The egg hatches into a worm-like animal known as 
a grub or caterpillar, but more accurately, larvae, 
which settles down and spins a home of silk, called a 
cocoon. 

12. What shall we find in a cocoon? 

An insect covered with an outside skeleton, scarcely 



1 ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 

able to move and unable to eat. In this state it is 
called a "pupa." 

13. What is the next change? 

After a rest in the pupa stage, the animal comes 
forth a mature insect. 

14. How do insects breathe? 

They have little holes placed along both sides of the 
body and through these the air passes in and out. 

15. Do insects have blood like mammals ? 

No, their blood is transparent like water and is 
pushed along through the body not by a beating heart, 
but by the beating of a large vein or artery which lies 
along the back. 

16. Where is its brain? 

The brain of the insect is not all in one place, but 
scattered in knots or bunches along the principal 
nerve situated near the lower side in the middle of 
the body. 

17. Have insects bones? 

No, their skeletons are on the outside of their bodies. 

18. Are any of them warm blooded? 

No, they are cold blooded and can freeze without 
being killed. 

19. Where do they live through the winter? 

They hibernate; that is, a great many kinds live 
through winter hidden away among old grass or under 
stones, fallen leaves, logs or loose bark, and in the 
ground. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS li 

20. Does freezing injure the young and the eggs of the 

insects ? 

No, the young and the eggs can be frozen solid and 
not be injured. 

21. How long do insects generally live? 

Some kinds live longer than others, raising several 
generations, but insects generally die soon after laying 
•their eggs. 

22. Do they live to rear their young ? 

A great many die even before their eggs hatch. A 
few, like the queen bee, live much longer and even 
take some care of their young. 

23. Do insects need much food? 

Some insects eat all the time while growing, never 
going to sleep. They stop to rest only long enough to 
shed their skins. 

24. How many times their own weight may insects eat ? 

Such kinds as live on flesh have been known to eat 
two hundred times their own weight of food in a 
single day. 

25. Do caterpillars grow rapidly? 

Certain kinds may increase in size ten thousand 
times inside of thirty days. 

26. How widely are insects found? 

In all countries at all times of the year. They are 
found in our homes, gardens, and fields; in the air, 
water, and the earth ; both within and upon the bodies 
of animals. 



IJJ ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 

27. Are they ever useful to mankind? 

Some gather honey, fertilize flowers, and make wax. 
Others spin silk, and some clean away dead animals. 

28. "What proportion of all animal life do insects form? 

They form about nine-tenths of all the animal life 
upon the earth. 

29. Name some insects that are man's friends? 

Bees, wasps, ichneumon flies, flesh flies, dragon flies, 
tiger beetles, burying beetles, ladybirds, and silkworms 
are helpful to man. 
80. Of what use are bumblebees? 

They gather honey and pollen, and while doing this 
help to fertilize plants by carrying pollen from one to 
the other. Red clover would not grow in New Zealand 
until bumblebees were taken there to fertilize the 
clover. 

31. Are there other useful bees? 

Yes, a large number of other kinds of wild bees have 
iheir favorite flowers which they cross-fertilize as they 
gather honey. 

32. Are there many kinds of wasps ? 

There are "yellow jackets," "mud daubers," hor- 
nets, and many other kinds. 

33. Of what use to man are hornets and "yellow jackets"? 

They often catch large numbers of biting flies, like 
the house fly and those that worry our cattle. 

34. What useful work is done by other wasps? 

Some feed their young upon caterpillars ; othei kinds 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEKS liii 

eat grasshoppers and still others devour cicadas aud 
the like. 

35. In what ways are ichneumon flies our friends ? 

There are hundreds of kinds of them and they at- 
tack other insects in vast numbers. 

36. How do flesh flies serve us? 

They attack dead animal flesh by laying eggs that 
• hatch into maggots, and these eat the flesh that might 
otherwise spread disease. 

37. Is this the only work of flesh flies? 

No, many of these flies have the habit of laying their 
eggs upon the bodies of caterpillars, grasshoppers, and 
plant lice. The eggs hatch and kill their hosts. 

38. What other names are given to dragon flies? 

They have been called "snake feeders" and "darn- 
ing needles" by people who did not know much about 
their ways of living. 

39. What habits have dragon flies that are helpful to us? 

They eat all kinds of mosquitoes, gnats, and small 
flies. 

40. What are robber flies? 

They are long-bodied, strong-legged flies with faces 
covered with stiff whiskers, and they make a loud 
buzzing noise as they fly. Some are as large as bum- 
blebees. 

41. Why should we look upon them as friends? 

They kill grasshoppers and many other kinds of 
insects, though they like grasshoppers best. 



liv ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUKE 

42. What is another name for locust? 

Short-horned grasshopper. 

43. Why are locusts enemies of man? 

Because they feed on plants and most of the plants 
are useful to man. 

44. Where do they lay their eggs? 

They lay their eggs, from two dozen to a hundred 
at a time, in the ground, usually in the late summer 
or early fall. 

45. How may the farmer destroy them? 

By disking or harrowing in the fall, winter, or 
spring. 

46. Do crickets and katydids do much harm to crops ? 

No, they seldom become numerous enough to do seri- 
ous harm. 

47. What kinds of insects suck blood and sap instead of 

biting their food? 

Some are called cicadas; others, leaf and tree hop- 
pers ; and still others, lice and plant lice. 

48. Are they all harmful ? 

Most of them are either enemies of man or of domes- 
tic animals or of plants that are useful to man. 

49. Name some insects with sucking mouths. 

Lice and bedbugs, squashbug and chinch bug and the 
like. 

50. What are cicadas? 

They are wrongly called locusts. One kind lives for 
sixteen years underground, sucking the sap from roots. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEKS Iv 

The seventeenth year they come to the surface, get 
wings, lay eggs on the twigs of trees and die. The egg 
hatch and the young drop to the ground and dig down 
to live as their parents did for another sixteen years. 

51. How do the treehoppers and leafhoppers live? 

They live on sap. Some of them have such queer 
faces that they have been called brownie bugs, 

52. Are there many kinds? 

There are hundreds of different kinds, and each one 
seems to be the enemy of some one kind of plant. There 
is scarcely a blade of grass or a weed or a cultivated 
plant but has several working on it. 

53. What is the most common of the injurious beetles ? 

The "Junebug" or ''Maybeetle, " whose young are 
the grubworms found in the ground. 

54. What plants do they attack ? 

Sometimes they attack in great numbers our fruit 
and shade trees, eating blossoms, leaves, and fruit. 

55. How shall one fight the cabbage worm? 

Cabbage worms are the young of a small white but- 
terfly. Paris green on young plants will destroy many 
young or larvae. Birds kill many. 

56. What is one of the worst pests of the farmer ? 

The chinch bug. It has caused a loss of $4,000,000 
in one year in one state. 

57. What means are taken to fight it? 

Their winter quarters are destroyed by burning dry 
grass, leaves, and rubbish in fields and fence rows. 



Ivi ELEMENTAKY AGRICULTURE 

58. Does not the chinch bug have wings ? 

Yes, but it seldom uses them, usually traveling afoot. 

59. What other method is used to fight them? 

A deep furrow is plowed around the field for them 
to fall into, where they may be destroyed by spraying 
with kerosene emulsion. 

60. "What is the plant louse? 

It is a tiny insect that multiplies very fast. It gives 
off a sweetish fluid of which ants are very fond. Ants 
are said to protect and care for them for the sake of 
milking them. 

61. How may one fight the plant louse? 

Since they suck their food, poison sprays will not 
kill them. They must be sprayed with kerosene emul- 
sion or strong soapsuds. 

62. Will poisons kill the squash bug ? 

No, about the only way to destroy them is to pick 
them by hand. 

63. How shall we protect melons and cucumbers from these 

bugs ? 

By planting squashes alongside and picking the bugs 
from the squashes where they gather. 

64. What plant is chiefly attacked by the Hessian fly ? 

The Hessian fly does more damage to wheat than all 
the other insects together. 

65. What method is used to fight the Hessian fly? 

All stubble and trash are burned to kill the winter- 
ing insects. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Ivii 

66. What is the San Jose scale? 

It is one of the most dreaded enemies of fruit trees. 

67. What is the nature of it ? 

It is small and multiplies very -apidly. 

68. What precautions are advisable? 

Never bring in new trees without making sure that 
they are free from this scale. 

69. What shall we do if they are already in ? 

Prevent spreading by spraying thoroughly with a 
fire-boiled lime-sulphur mixture. 

70. What crop does the codling moth attack? 

The apple crop. Sometimes seventy-five per cent of 
the crop is lost through this pest. A loss of $3,000,000 
a year has been caused by it in New York state. 

71. How shall we fight the codling moth ? 

By destroying orchard trash, spraying the trees with 
Paris green as soon as the blossoms fall, and trapping 
the worms with cloth bands wrapped around the tree 
trunks. 

72. What is the chief enemy of the plum tree ? 

The plum curculio. 

73. How does it injure the crop? 

It injures the plum by stinging it and depositing an 
egg from which a maggot-like larva soon hatches and 
burrows through the fruit, causing it to drop to the 
ground before it is ripe. 

74. What then becomes of the larva ? 

It burrows several inches into the ground, then it 



Iviii ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

becomes a pupa and at last a beetle that comes forth to 
winter in cracks and crevices. 

75. How can the plum curculio be destroyed ? 

One remedy is to spray the trees twice with a mix- 
ture of two pounds of arsenate of lead and three 
pounds of lime in fifty gallons of water. 

76. "What injury does the cankerworm ? 

Cankerworms devour the leaves of an orchard, de- 
stroying the crop and doing permanent injury to the 
tree. 

77. How may one fight the cankerworm ? 

By protecting and furnishing needed food to the 
common birds, nearly all of Avhieh feed upon this pest. 
The chickadee will devour thirty female cankerworm 
moths a day. 

78. What other remedy is there? 

As the female moth cannot fly, the tree may be pro- 
tected by smoothing the bark and fitting close to it a 
band of paper over which is smeared something sticky, 
like printer's ink or tanglefoot. 

79. How can the apple-tree tent caterpillar be destroyed? 

By burning the nests with torches at dusk when all 
the worms are inside. Care must be exercised not to 
burn the tender young branches of the tree by allow- 
ing the flame to approach them too closely. 

80. What else may be done? 

Encourage birds and spray the trees. 

81. What are insecticides? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES lix 

Insecticides are substances that are used to poison 
insects. 

82. How many classes of insecticides are there? 

There are three: internal poisons, contact poisons, 
and fumigation poisons. 

83. What are internal poisons? 

They are food or internal poisons like Paris green, 
London purple, or lead arsenate, which are used to kill 
insects that chew their food. 

84. What are contact poisons and how applied? 

They are poisons, such as oil and caustic alkalies 
which are used to kill sucking insects. They destroy 
the body of the insect, such as the San Jose scale. 

85. What are fumigation poisons? 

They are substances that enter the breathing pores 
of the insect and cause death by poison or suffocation. 

86. What is the Bordeaux mixture ? 

It is a fungicide used everywhere to reduce damage 
done to fruits and vegetables by fungi. There are sev- 
eral formulas for different purposes of spraying, but 
the standard Bordeaux mixture is: 6 pounds copper 
sulphate (bluestone), and 4 pounds of lime to 50 gal- 
lons of water. 

87. If this mixture iiijures the foliage of the trees, how is 

the formula altered? 

The peach Bordeaux mixture may be used : 3 pounds 
copper sulphate and 9 pounds of lime to 50 gallons 
of water. 



Ix ELEMENTARY AGE I CULTURE 

88. "What is the color of the Bordeaux mixture? 

When properly prepared it has a sky-blue color. If 
the lime used is not fresh the mixture has a greenish 
color which indicates that more liine is needed. 

89. Is it possible to mix and use an insecticide with the 

Bordeaux mixture? 

Yes, this is often done when internal poisons like 
Paris green, London purple or arsenate of lead are 
used. They may be added to the Bordeaux mixture at 
the rate of one-fourth pound to 50 gallons of Bordeaux. 

90. What are lime and sulphur preparations used for? 

They are much used to destroy scale insects, acting 
both as a fungicide and insecticide. 

91. Give a common preparation of lime and sulphur. 

Fresh lime, 15 to 30 pounds; flowers of sulphur, 15 
pounds ; common salt, 10 pounds ; water enough to 
make 50 gallons. 

92. What is said of kerosene preparations? 

They should be applied to plants with great caution, 
but they are very efficient in fighting certain injurious 
insects. 

93. How is kerosene emulsion made? 

Dissolve one-half pound of naptha soap in one gal- 
lon of water, add two gallons of kerosene and thor- 
oughly mix. Dilute by adding water. Use for scale 
and other sucking insects that can not be destroyed by 
the use of poisons. 

94. What is Paris green used for? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Ixi 

It is a standard poison for all insects that bite and 
swallow their food. 

95. What caution is needed in using it? 

It needs constant stirring to keep the poison from 
settling in the vessel. 

96. How is it mixed ? 

It is used at the rate of about 4 ounces to 50 gallons 

of water and some lime is often added to prevent harm 

■ 

to the foliage. 

97. What is arsenate of lead ? 

It is often used instead of Paris green, because it is 
lighter and so remains suspended better. It also ad- 
heres to the foliage better. 

WEEDS 

1. What is a weed? 

Any plant growing out of place or where it is not 
wanted is a weed. Rye growing in a wheat field or 
wheat growing in a field of corn is an injury to the 
crop and may be regarded as a weed. 

2. How are weeds harmful^ 

In many ways. They use moisture and plant food 
needed by the crop, they shade and crowd out other 
plants, they increase the cost of tillage and harvesting 
and decrease the value of grain for market. 

3. Can a farmer ignore weeds? 

No farmer can make a success of his business until 
he learns how to fight weeds effectively. 



Ixii ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 

4. How do weeds get into our fields ? 

Some weed seeds remain in the soil for several years 
and retain their vitality, some are carried by wind, by 
water, by birds, by animals, by machinery, or in seed 
grain or grass seed. 

5. What is one essential in controlling weeds? 

To know the common weeds and their habits and 
thus to take advantage of their weak points. 

6. Are there a great many very troublesome weeds? 

Not a great number, and it is not a difficult matter to 
know them both as seeds and as young or mature 
plants. 

7. How great is the loss from weeds? 

It is hard to estimate, but weeds cost many times as 
much as do all the schools of the country. 

8. What are annual weeds? 

Those that produce seeds in one year and die. 

9. What are some of the annual weeds ? 

Pigeon grass, wild oats, wild barley, mustard, corn 
cockle, cocklebur, ragweed, etc. 

10. Which is the most common? 

Pigeon grass, or foxtail, which is very troublesome 
on poor soils and in cornfields after cultivation has 
ceased. 

11. How shall one fight this pest? 

It is well to plant rape, grain or clover just before 
the last cultivation of corn, and the growth of this crop 
will hold back the pigeon grass and other weeds. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Ixiii 

12. How is mustard identified? 

It has yellow blossoms with four petals and round 
black seed. 

13. Where is mustard likely to be found? 

It is very common in grain fields and it is very hard 
to get rid of. 

14. Why is mustard hard to kill? 

Because the seed will live for five years or more in 
the soil. If the main stem is cut off by binder or mower 
before the seeds are ripe, side branches grow out 
quickly and mature seed. 

15. What is the best way to fight mustard? 

By spraying with a three per cent solution of copper 
sulphate or a twenty per cent solution of iron sulphate 
before the mustard pods form. 

16. What about wild oats? 

They ripen earlier than most grain and the seeds 
fall to the ground, where they may live from two to 
four years and still grow. 

17. Is it difficult to rid the fields of wild oats ? 

If they get a start in a field devoted to grain it is 
almost impossible to get them out unless the fields are 
put to corn, so that cultivation may kill them. 

18. What is wild barley or squirrel-tail like ? 

This troublesome annual is a fine grass-like plant 
growing in bunches along roadsides and in old meadows 
and pastures. It has soft, drooping heads with long 
beards. 



Ixiv ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

19. How may wild barley be eradicated ? 

By breaking up the field and planting corn two or 
three years and then reseeding to pasture or meadow. 

20. "Will a few weed seeds in seed grain do much harm? 

Yes, if there are weed seeds in grain that cannot be 
cleaned out it should not be used, but clean seed should 
be procured. 

21. What other rules may be suggested for keeping weeds 

off the farm? 

Insisting that the threshing machine be well cleaned 
before it moves to the farm ; never feeding stock 
troublesome weeds, as some seeds pass through undi- 
gested; preventing all weeds from seeding. 

22. "What effect has rotation of crops on weeds? 

It is the best remedy for controlling annuals. 

23. Will stock help to destroy weeds? 

Yes, especially in stubble fields. Sheep are par- 
ticularly helpful, as they eat many kinds of weeds and 
eat them so close to the ground that they cannot seed. 

24. What other treatment may be given stubble fields? 

Disking them soon after harvest kills many and 
covers others. 

25. Are there any crops that are specially helpful in de- 

stroying weeds ? 

Quick-growing crops, like barley and millet, may be 
sown late, giving a chance to cultivate well before seed- 
ing. They grow thickly and ripen early, thus giving 
the weeds a poor chance. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES Ixv 

26. What are biennial weeds? 

They are those that grow from seed one year, live 
over winter, mature seed the second year, then die. 

27. What are the most troublesome biennials? 

Thistles and burdocks. 

28. What are the kinds of thistles ? 

The bull thistle, or common thistle; the Canada 
thistle ; and the sow or milk thistle. The last two are 
perennials. 

29. Which most need to be guarded against ? 

The Canada and sow thistles are very bad. No farm- 
ers should allow the Canada thistle to get a start. 

30. Where does the burdock grow ? 

The burdock is found in pastures, waste places, and 
along the roadside. 

31. How is the burdock most easily identified? 

By the nearly round bur with its many little spines 
which enable it to cling to clothing or the hair or wool 
of animals. 

32. How may one eradicate biennials? 

By preventing them from seeding. It is best to cut 
them off just below the ground with a spade to prevent 
branches from starting. 

33. What are perennial weeds? 

They grow both from seeds and from roots which 
remain in the ground over winter. Breaking up the 
roots and spreading the pieces is just planting so many 
new weeds, for every joint will grow. 



Ixvi ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

34. What are the worst perennials ? 

Morning glory, curled dock, Canada thistle, and sow- 
thistle. 

35. Describe the curled dock. 

It grows about two feet high from underground root- 
stalks and has long, narrow leaves. It is commonly 
found in low, moist places. 

36. How is it best handled ? 

By good drainage, cultivation, and rotation of crops. 

37. Why are morning glories a nuisance on the farm ? 

They twine about crop plants and choke them. These 
weeds spread by underground root stalks and ordinary 
cultivation and rotation will not kill them. 

38. How may they be killed ? 

By persistent hoeing, so as to keep all leaves cut off, 
allowing none to appear above ground. 

39. What distinguishes the sow thistle 1 

It is smooth leaved with yellow blossoms, and it some- 
times practically takes possession of whole fields. Its 
seeds are blown about and it spreads easily, both in this 
way and by root stalks. 

40. How does the Canada thistle spread ? 

In the same manner as the sow thistle. 

41. What means are used to kill the Canada thistle? 

Large stalks may be killed by cutting them off when 
in bloom. The stems are hollow and rain running dowr 
the hollow stems causes the roots to decay. 

42. How may perennials be exterminated ? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEKS Ixvii 

If the patch is small the roots may be dug up, or it 
may be smothered with tar paper, because no plant 
can live if the leaves are kept in the dark away from 
the sunlight. 
43. How else may they be smothered? 

By a thick covering of straw or manure. 

THE ORCHARD 

1. What is the most popular and widely-grown fruit? 

The apple is most widely known and prized, but it 
does not cover so great a range of latitude as some 
others. 

2. What are some of the leading apple states? 

New York, IMichigan, Pennsylvania, ^Missouri, Ore- 
gon, and Washington. 

3. What soils does the apple require? 

It thrives on a great variety of soils, but when 
planted in large areas for profit it becomes necessary 
to select those soils that give the best results. 

4. What are some of the soil qualities desirable? 

A deep soil of gravelly loam, rich in plant food, 
with porous subsoil free from hardpan. Apple trees 
cannot thrive in a poorly-drained soil. 

5. How shall one select his nursery trees? 

They should be free from obnoxious insects and 
fungous diseases. The Government inspection is not 
always a sufficient guarantee of this. 



Ixviii ELEMENTARY AGEICULTURE 

6. What slope is most desirable for fruit? 

The north slope and east slope are generally con- 
sidered best because they are shielded from the warm 
sun. The trees therefore do not blossom so early and 
are less liable to be caught by late frosts. 

7. What may be said in favor of a south slope? 

Fruit on the south slope has a deeper color, though 
it is usually smaller than that grown on the north 
slope because the south slope is drier from evapora- 
tion. 

8. What soil preparation is necessary for a fruit orchard ? 

The soil preparation should be made as carefully 
for fruit as for a corn crop, so that the roots of the 
trees may grow far and wide for food. 

9. What is required as to drainage? 

Thorough drainage must be provided because an 
orchard should not be too wet. 

10. Shall one import trees? 

No, they should be purchased as near home as pos- 
sible, so they will be accustomed to the climate. 

11. What season is proper for planting? 

Trees may be planted either in the fall or spring. 

12. What rule may be given for the distance between 

trees ? 

It is common practice to plant apples 30 to 40 feet 
apart each way; pears, 20 to 30 feet; quinces, 10 to 
12 feet; plums, 15 to 20 feet; sweet cherries, 15 to 25 
feet; and peaches, 15 to 20 feet apart each way. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Ixix 

13. What advantage is there in straight rows? 

Straight rows not only improve the appearance of 
an orchard, but they make tillage easier. 

14. What is the reason for priming the tops of nursery 

stock? 

]\Iany of the roots have been destroyed in trans- 
planting, so the tops should be cut back proportion- 
ately that there may not be a shortage of food. If 
the top is left there will be greater demand for plant 
food than the roots can supply. 

15. How large a hole is needed for planting? 

The hole must be large enough to accommodate the 
roots in their natural position. They should not be 
bent or crowded together. 

16. How should the soil be arranged about the tree? 

The soil must be packed firmly about the roots, so 
they can begin to draw plant food at once. 

17. What directions are given about the surface? 

The surface of the soil about the tree should be 
loose to act as a mulch to prevent evaporation. 

18. What is a common mistake in planting trees? 

Leaving the soil about the roots loose and packing 
the surface hard. 

19. Why is this bad practice? 

It is favorable to the evaporation of the moisture 
needed by the plants, and the drying of the soil kills 
the young tree. 

20. Why is tillage of an orchard advisable? 



Ixx ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 

Tillage improves the soil, saves moisture, and sets 
ffee plant food. 

21. "What proportion of fruit is water? 

]\Iore than ninety per cent of most fruit is water. 

22. Is it wise to grow any other crop in the orchard? 

Trees make a heavy demand on plant food, and un- 
less the soil is very rich it is unwise to grow any other 
crop. 

23. "What fertilizer may an orchard need? 

It needs humus, which may be supplied by barn- 
yard manure. It may need nitrogen, phosphoric acid, 
and potash. 

24. What are the purposes of pruning ? 

To give the tree an attractive shape and to keep 
limbs from interfering with one another. Also to pro- 
vide air and light for all parts of the tree. 
2^. What different effects have winter and summer 
• pruning ? 

AVinter pruning encourages the growth of wood, 
while summer pruning encourages the production of 
fruit. 

26. Upon what does the market price of fruit largely 

depend ? 

Upon how well the fruit is graded and how attrac- 
tively it is packed. 

27. What is meant by grading fruit? 

When they are separated into piles of like sizes and 
packed separately. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES Ixxi 

28. Why is the peach harder to grow than the apple ? 
Because it is more easily injured by frost. 

CORN 

1. "What effect would a more careful selection of seed 

corn have upon the crop? 

It is believed that by more scientific selection of seed 
the crop in any state in the Union could be made to 
yield from five to twenty bushels per acre more than 
it now yields. 

2. Is judging corn a difficult lesson to learn? 

By no means. By learning the desirable points of 
a good ear a little experience will make one a proficient 
corn judge. 

3. How may one select a well developed ear? 

Only the best developed ears are filled out at the 
tips. 

4. "What kind of kernels are desirable ? 

Uniform and rectangular kernels. 

5. How are such kernels secured? 

By selecting only ears with straight rows and by 
discarding the kernels at both tip and butt. 

6. Why do we wish all kernels to be uniform in size and 

shape ? 

Because most farmers plant with a machine and 
wish to plant three kernels in a hill. If the kernels 
are irregular in size and shape the machine will not 
plant evenly. 



Ixxii ELEMENTARY ivGklCULTUEE 

7. Why is it desirable to plant large kernels? 

The larger kernel contains a larger amount of food 
material to sustain the early growth and thus a more 
vigorous plant results. 

8. Can one tell by looking at an ear of corn whether cr 

not. the kernels will sprout? 

No, the only way is to test it. If the farmer takes 
ten kernels from one ear and they all sprout it is a 
good ear for seed. 

9. What is a corn grader? 

Graders are machines that sift out the small grains 
or kernels that grow on the tips of the cob and the 
large, irregular ones that grow on the butt. 

10. Is it advisable for a farmer to own one? 

. A corn grader costs about $10, and it will soon pay 
for itself if the farmer plants fair-sized corn crops. 

11. What land is best fitted for corn? 

Land that grew clover, alfalfa, cow peas or grass 
the preceding year. 

12. Why is clover or grassland best for corn? 

Because it has much vegetable matter left in th^^ 
soil and this is good for the crop. 

13. If there is neither clover nor grassland to be had for 

corn, what then? 

Choose well-drained land, manure heavily, and disk 
it in well. 

14. When is the best time to plow for corn? 

Usually in the fall. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEKS Ixxiii 

15. What treatment should fall-plowed land have in the 

spring ? 
, It should be thoroughly disked before planting to 
corn. 

16. How early should one plant? 

As a rule, corn is planted in May as early as the 
soil can well be prepared. 
17.* Is it desirable to plant earlier in wet soil? 

No, because the corn will not sprout in cold, wet soil, 
but will rot. 

18. What is the most common mistake in planting corn? 

Planting too deep. Corn cannot be made to root 
deep by planting deep. 

19. What are some of the reasons for cultivating ? 

Keeping down weeds, preventing evaporation, and 
furnishing air to the soil. 

20. How do corn roots grow? 

In a dry soil corn roots will grow nearly straight 
down while in a heavy or more moist soil they spread 
out near the surface of the ground. 

21. How deep shall one cultivate? 

Shallow cultivation is usually best, for one should 
not break off the roots that are feeding the plant. 

22. Which is better — a cultivator, with two or several 

shovels ? 

A cultivator with four or five small shovels on a 
side is better unless the corn is very weedy, in which 
case larger shovels will better destroy the weeds. 



Ixxiv ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

23. What device is often better than shovels, especially for 

weeds ? 

In place of shovels two or more knives or blades that 
run an inch or two below the surface, separating the 
surface soil and cutting the weeds. 

24. What advantage has the check planter? 

In weedy soil it enables the farmer to cultivate both 
ways and destroy all weeds. 

25. What is the best method of securing seed corn? 

A farmer will get the best results by selecting the 
seed from his own farm. 

26. Is there any variety adapted to all latitudes? 

No, each section, even each locality, has varieties 
that have adapted themselves to that particular region 
and it is unwise to import seed corn from a distance. 

27. How may one develop an early variety? 

By selecting for seed, year after year, the ears that 
ripen first. 

28. Shall one select seed from a load of husked corn or 

from the bin? 

It is better to select seed corn in the field, because 
the stalks must be considered as well as the ear. 
Usually good ears come from good plants, but a good 
ear that comes from a stalk that bears two ears is to 
be preferred for seed. 

29. What are qualities to look for in the ear? 

The ear must be firm and solid to the touch and the 
kernels should not be loose on the cob. Loose kernels 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS IxxV 

indicate immature ears and these do not germinate 
readily. The rows on the cob need to be straight and 
the kernels flat, as round grains leave space of cob 
uncovered. The tips should be well filled out. 

30. W.hy should seed corn be dried before cold weather? 

Because if corn is not thoroughly dry, freezing in- 
jures the seed germ. 

31. How may seed be treated in order to dry well? 

It should be stored in a room so the air may cir- 
culate about it freely. Often the heat of a stove or 
furnace is used to assist in the drying operation. 

32. What good storage place is suggested ? 

In the attic over the kitchen with windows open. 

33. Why is the loft over the stable, where stock is kept, a 

poor place for seed corn? 

Because the steam and breath from the animals will 
keep the corn moist enough to greatly reduce its 
vitality. 

34. Is it wise to leave seed corn in a pile ? 

It should not be piled over eight or ten inches deep, 
as it hinders a free circulation of air about it. 

35. What are some of the devices used in drying corn? 

Some use the ''corn tree," which is merely an up- 
right post with headless nails slightly driven in. An 
ear of corn is easily stuck on each nail by jamming it 
into the pith at the butt of the ear. This holds it 
horizontally apart from the other ears. Other farm- 
ers use a wall thickly driven with nails. 



Ixxvi ELEMENTARY AGEICULTURE 

36. What portion of the world's corn crop is produced in 

America ? 

Over three-fourths is grown in the United States. 
Nearly half the world's crop is grown in the Corn 
Belt: Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, INIissouri, Kansas, In- 
diana, and Ohio. 

37. How does a full crop of corn compare in food value 

with a crop of other grains? 

A full crop of corn may produce twice the amount 
of food furnished by other grains. 

38. What was the Indian method of planting corn? 

They planted four grains in a hill four feet each 
way and taught this method to the early colonists. 

39. At what distance is corn generally planted now? 

Most of the corn in the Corn Belt is planted three 
feet eight inches apart each way, with two to four 
kernels per hill. 

40. Does it pay to own a corn harvester? 

They are very convenient, but not profitable unless 
one has a considerable area to cut. 

41. What is the more general way of harvestirg corn? 

More corn is husked from the standing stalks in the 
fields than is harvested in any other way. 

42. Are silos in general use in the United States? 

They have come into common use in the dairy sec- 
tions in the past fifteen years. 

43. What advantage comes from the use of the silo? 

It prevents much of the loss of food and makes both 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Ixxvu 

the feed and the manure easier to handle. Silage or 
ensilage is more palatable than fodder and stock will 
eat more of it. 

44. How does silage compare with fodder for milk pro- 

duction ? 

The same amount of corn in the silo will produce 
more milk than it will if fed as fodder, and as silage 
it is all eaten by the cows. 

45. By what principle is the food preserved green in the 

silo? 

The principle is the same as that of canning fruit. 
The silage heats very hot and begins to decay, which 
uses up the air in the silo, changing it to carbon 
dioxide. When the air in the silo is exhausted the 
decay ceases and the bacteria die. The silage will 
then keep indefinitely, provided no more air can get in. 

46. What is the best building material for a silo? 

Any kind of material may be used ; cement, stone, or 
brick; but they are all more expensive than wood. 

47. What is the chief essential? 

That the silo be air-tight at the sides and bottom. 
The deeper the silo the cheaper the construction for a 
given capacity and the better the silage keeps, because 
that in the bottom is packed harder. 

48. When should corn be cut for the silo? 

When the kernels are glazed and the lower leaves 
have begun to die. 

49. For what animals is silage used as a feed? 



Ixxviii ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

Its chief use is for feeding dairy animals. Though 
it is good for sheep and fattening cattle, it is not often 
so used. It is not fed to horses. 

50. Is there reason in the prejudice against silage milk? 

No, if the silage is in good condition there is no un- 
pleasant flavor in the milk, and the user in many cases 
prefers the silage milk. 

51. To what different uses is corn put? 

The chief use of corn is as food for farm animals; 
a large amount is used as human food ; it is also made 
into alcohol, whiskey, glucose, cornstarch, and corn 
oil. 

52. How much pork will a bushel of corn produce? 

From ten to eleven pounds of pork may be pro- 
duced from a bushel of corn. 

53. What proportion of the American corn crop is ex- 

ported ? 

Less than two per cent is exported. 

WHEAT 

1. Why is the price of wheat higher than that of other 

grains ? 

Because it is more highly valued as human food 
than are the other grains. 

2. Are the food elements of wheat superior to that of 
other grains? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Ixxix 

No, chemically wheat does not seem to be superior, 
but it has certain elements that make it more palatable 
and healthful. 

3. How does the wheat crop of North America compare 

with that of Europe ? 

Europe produces twice as much wheat as Nortii 
America. 

4. How can Europe compete with America in the world's 

market ? 

Europe secures about twice the yield per acre, and 
so is able to compete with the great wheat farms of 
our country. 

5. What is the difference between wheat adapted to humid 

regions and that of drier regions? 
The wheat of humid regions is a soft variety, while 
that of drier climates is hard. 

6. "What makes possible the ^'bonanza" wheat farms? 

Wheat lends itself to machine-farming better than 
most other crops, and this makes very large farms 
profitable. 

7. Why does wheat thrive farther north than corn? 

It is better adapted to short seasons and completes 
its growth before the severest summer droughts occur. 
A drought late in summer is injurious to corn. 

8. Wliat soils are well adapted to wheat growing? 

Wheat will grow on a variety of soils, but does best 
on clay loams and clays. These are not the best soils 
for corn. 



Ixxx ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUEE 

9. Which is the better paying crop, wheat or corn, when 
the land is suitable to either ? 
The corn crop is more profitable. 

10. How much wheat is sown to the acre? 

From six to eight pecks. 

11. What uses has wheat other than the flour used in mak- 

ing bread? 

Breakfast foods, paste, starch, and macaroni and 
food for animals. 



POTATOES 

1. Whence came the potato? 

It is a native of South America and was carried to 
Europe by the early explorers. 

2. Why is it sometimes called the Irish potato ? 

It was early introduced into Ireland, where it be- 
came the staple food plant. Great famines resulted 
there from potato crop failure. 

3. What is the part of the plant that we eat called? 

A tuber. 

4. What is a tuber? 

A root plant like the carrot is a development of tlie 
root, but the potato is not a root : it is an enlarged 
underground stem called a tuber. 

5. Are rootlets ever attached to the potato tuber? 

No, rootlets grow from other roots and the tuber 
is not a root. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Ixxxi 

6. Why should a fair-sized piece of the potato be left 

with the "eye" when planted? 

The young plant must have food to sustain it until 
it can send its roots down and its leaves into the sun- 
light. 

7. How deep are the seedpieces planted? 

From two to tive inches, according to the soil. 

8. Why do not some growers hill up their plants? 

Level culture wastes less moisture by evaporation 
than does hilling. 

9. When should potatoes be harvested? 

The early ones should be dug as soon as they are 
large enough for market. Late varieties are left until 
the vines are dead and dug when the ground is dry. 

10. What is the average yield in the United States? 

About eighty-five bushels to the acre. Under ideal 
conditions from three hundred to five hundred bushels 
to the acre is not uncommon. 

11. What are the early enemies of the potato plant? 

The first enemies are the fleabeetles, which appear 
as soon as the plant is above ground. 

12. How are they checked? 

By spraying with Paris green, combined with the 
Bordeaux mixture. 

13. How may one identify the Colorado potato beetle ? 

It has a black and yellow coat when mature. 

14. How is it checked? 

By the same means as the fleabeetles. 



Ixxxii ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

15. What diseases often check the growing crop ? 

The early blight usually appears in June. The late 
blight is more serious. 

16. How is blight checked? 

By spraying with the Bordeaux mixture. 

17. How may the potato scab be prevented ? 

By soaking the seed potatoes in a three per cent 
solution of formaldehyde for one or two hours. 

18. "What are the uses of the potato? 

It is used largely for human food, but it is good food 
for stock, either raw or cooked. 

19. How does the potato crop compare wdth grain or hay 

as to labor? 

It requires a greater amount of labor per acre, and, 
as a rule, yields a much larger income. 

20. How do they compare in cost of production? 

It costs about $25 an acre to produce potatoes; altout 
$9 per acre for wheat, and a])out $7 for ha^^ 

21. What are some of the difficulties in raising potatoes? 

They are a bulky crop and expensive to market, 
especially if it is a long haul to the station. 

22. Compare the keeping cjualities of potatoes with grain. 

Potatoes are a perishable crop and cannot be held 
over for high prices as can grain or hay. Potatoes 
must be protected from the cold in winter. 

23. What effect have potatoes on the soil ? 

About the same effect as corn. By thorough culti- 
vation they g'ive an opportunity to destroy weeds, to 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEKS lx.^xiii 

conserve moisture, and to aid the decay of vegetable 
matter in the soil. 

24. How may the best prices be obtained by the farmer 

for potatoes'? 

It is better to raise one variety in large quantities 
than several varieties, so as to ship in unmixed carload 
lots. 

25. How can farmers cooperate in raising potatoes? 

The farmers in one locality could well choose one or 
two varieties that suit their soil and all raise these 
same varieties so as to ship together in unmixed car- 
loads. 

26. When is the time to select seed potatoes? 

In the fall, when the crop is being dug, if one wishes 
to improve the variety; otherwise it tends to run out. 

27. What is a guide in selecting seed ? 

Select only from hills that yield from five to eight 
good-sized potatoes, of even size, discarding those hills 
that have any very large or very small potatoes in 
them. 

28. Why not simply select seed from the bin? 

Because the good-looking potato chosen from the 
bin may have grown on a plant that had many other 
small ones, and the tendency of the seed is to produce 
like the parent plant. 

29. How many seed potatoes are required per acre? 

About ten bushels. 

30. How does sprouting injure seed potatoes? 



Ixxxiv ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTURE 

It uses up part of tLe food stored for the young 
plant and leaves the seed less vigorous. 

31. Why can a farmer afford to spend more time prepar- 

ing an acre of ground for potatoes than for grain? 
Because a fair crop of potatoes should net $40 per 
acre, while grain is worth about $10 per acre. 

32. Why should potatoes be planted early? 

They should be planted in April or early May, so 
they will have a chance to grow before the dry hot 
weather comes. 

33. How long should cultivation continue? 

Until the vines cover the ground in order to keep 
down weeds and check evaporation. 

COTTON 

1. Whence came the cotton plant? 

It was cultivated in the Old World in the earliest 
historic times. It was also cultivated in Mexico and 
South America before Columbus discovered this con- 
tinent. 

2. When was cotton introduced into the American 

colonies ? 

The colony of Virginia first began cotton culture 
in 1621. 

3. How did the invention of the cotton gin help the cot- 

ton industry of the world ? 

It greatly increased the profits of cotton raising. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Ixxxv 

4. What is the chief cotton-growing country? 

Nearly two-thirds of the world's crop is grown in 
twelve of our Southern states. 

5. "What other countries produce large amounts? 

India, Egypt, Russia, China, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, 
Persia, and Turkey. 

6. What may be said of the importance of the cotton 

plant ? 

Cotton is by far the most important fiber crop of 
the world. 

7. How is thread woven from cotton fiber ? 

The fibers of the common cotton are only about an 
inch long, but they become crooked and wavy as they 
ripen, and this causes them to cling together well to 
form thread when put through the spinning process. 

8. What are the different types of cotton? 

The cotton grown in this country is chiefly of three 
kinds: Common or short-staple upland cotton, long- 
staple upland, and sea-island cotton. 

9. Why is sea-island cotton so called? 

It originated in the West India islands. It grows 
well on islands and on the mainland within one hun- 
dred miles of the coast. 

10. What makes the sea-island cotton valuable? 

The fibers are long and of value in making spool 
cotton thread. 

11. How may cotton growers improve their cotton? 

By selecting seed from heavy yielding plants. 



Ixxxvi ELEMENTAEY AGKICULTURE 

12. How else may the yield be increased? 

By proper fertilizer, good rotations, and early plant- 
ing. 

13. When is the best time to select the seed? 

Just before and during the second picking; bolls 
should be selected from thrifty plants with compact 
growth of branches. 

14. Why should the soil for cotton be deep? 

The plant has a tap root and is a deep feeder. 

15. What bearing has this tap root upon drainage? 

It makes good drainage necessary. 

16. How may the soil be kept up where cotton is grown 

year after year on the same fields? 

It is then well to grow a crop of green manure be- 
tween the rows to be plowed under in the fall or the 
next spring. Such crops might be cowpeas, peanuts 
or soy beans. 

17. Why is it bad practice to burn the stalks? 

The soil needs them to replace the humus taken out 
by the crop. 

18. How then may the stalks be disposed of? 

They should be cut up with a stalk cutter or broken 
to pieces and plowed under. 

19. What is the best method of keeping up the fertility of 

cotton fields? 

The cottonseeds or their equivalent should be re- 
turned to the soil. The best method is to feed the seed 
to stock and scatter the stable manure over the field. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Ixxxvii 

20. How much fertilizer may be substituted for each one 

hundred pounds of cottonseed? 
Three pounds of nitrogen, one pound of phosphoric 
acid and one and one-fourth pounds of potash. 

21. What is the best method of supplying the nitrogen ? 

Growing legumes and plowing them under as green 
manure. 

22. "What element are cotton fields likely to need? 

Phosphoric acid. 

23. "What is the planting time? 

About two weeks after the last killing frost. 

24. What distance is allowed between the plants? 

The rows are from three and one-half to four feet 
apart and the plants twelve to eighteen inches apart. 

25. How much seed is allowed per acre ? 

From one to one and one-half bushels per acre to 
insure a good stand of plants. 

26. What cultivation is needful? 

The cultivation should be frequent and shallow 
until about time for picking to begin. A crust should 
not even then be allowed to form. 

27. What is a good yield of cotton ? 

The most productive fields will grow two bales per 
acre, but the average of the cotton belt is only two 
hundred pounds, or two-fifths of a bale, per acre. 

28. What good is being done by Government demonstra- 

tion farms? 

The cotton yield in Louisiana, due to United States 



Ixxxviii ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

demonstration methods, was increased from three hun- 
dred and eighty to seven hundred and sixty pounds 
per acre, all of which resulted from using better 
methods in cotton production. 

29. What mistake is sometimes made in storing the bales 

of cotton? 

The bales are too often exposed to the weather with- 
out shelter for months, and this may darken and 
weaken the outer layers and lower the selling price of 
the entire bale. 

30. What are some by-products of cotton? 

The chief by-product is cottonseed oil, extracted 
from the seed. The oil is used in making salad oils, 
cottolene, oleomargarine, soaps and other articles. The 
part left after the oil is taken out is ground into meal 
and fed to stock, chiefly dairy cows. 

31. From what diseases may the cotton crop suffer? 

From cotton wilt, cotton rust, and cotton root knot, 
all of which may be avoided by a proper rotation with 
corn, wheat, and legumes. 

32. What are the insect enemies of cotton? 

Two insects, the bollweevil and the bollworm, do 
most of the harm to the cotton crop. 

33. How may the grower best guard against the ravages 

of the weevils? 

By forcing the crop to mature early. 

34. How may early maturity be hastened? 

(a) Preparing the soil early and thoroughly. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Ixxxix 

(b) Planting early, using plenty of seed. 

(c) Cultivating often during the growing season. 

(d) Growing such varieties as set bolls early. 

(e) Selecting seed from early-maturing plants. 

(f) Using plenty of phosphoric acid as fertilizer, 
35. What other precautions are advisable? 

Picking the cotton as early as possible and imme- 
•diately destroying the entire field of plants, so as to 
starve the weevils several weeks before the cold weather 
drives them into winter quarters among rubbish. 



TIMOTHY HAY 

How did timothy get its name ? 

From Timothy Hansen, who took it from New York 
to the Carolinas about 1720. 
Why is timothy a popular crop? 

The seed is cheap, the crop is easily and cheaply 
grown, it stands well, it cures quickly, it loses but lit- 
tle in handling, it produces a good crop the year after 
it is sown, and it is well adapted to growth in rota- 
tion with other crops. 
What kind of soil is suited to the raising of timothy? 

It grows well on clay, clay loam, loam, and even on 
sandy soils; but it grows best on clay loam. 
What is the minimum or smallest amount of timothy 

sown to the acre? 



XC ELEMENTARY AGKICULTURE 

Nine pounds. Eleven pounds is the usual amount 
sown with cereals and fifteen pounds when sown alone. 

5. About how many seeds in nine pounds of timothy 

seed ? 

About ten million, or two hundred for each square 
foot in the acre. 

6. Do most of these seeds grow? 

No, some never sprout, some die because not well 
covered, and some are crowded out by more vigorous 
neighbors. 

7. Is it necessary to have a finely pulverized seed bed for 

grasses ? 

Very necessary, unless one washes to waste a great 
deal of seed. The better the seed bed is prepared the 
less seed need be sown. 

8. Is it necessary to cover grass seed at all? 

Much seed is sown without covering, which is all 
very well in continued rainy weather. Probably in 
well prepared soil deeper covering would bring a bet- 
ter stand, because many sprouting seeds die from the 
surface soil drying out before the roots get a deeper 
hold. 

9. "Why is it best to sow grasses with fall crops? 

Because the seed sprouts better then and because 
fall crops are harvested earlier in the spring, thus giv- 
ing the grass a better chance. 
10. Under what conditions is spring seeding of grass 
better? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES xei 

In places where the autumn rainfall is very light 
and the soil dry, it is better to sow in the spring. 

11. How deep should grass seed be sown? 

Grass seed needs shallower covering than cereals 
because the grass seed contains less starch to feed the 
plant until it gets its leaves into the sunlight. 

12. How long should the average field remain in timothy? 

Two or three years will give the highest hay yields 
and also give the soil its best power for producing 
other crops. 

13. What fertilizer is best for this crop? 

Manures rich in nitrogen give best returns in grass. 

14. Into what rotations of crops does timothy fit? 

The most common rotation in the North Atlantic 
and North Central States is: maize, oats, and wheat, 
each for one year, followed by timothy and clover for 
two or more years. 

15. When should timothy be cut? 

If intended for market, it will weigh most when 
nearly ripe, but for feeding it is best cut when the 
seed is in the dough. 

16. How does timothy compare with grains for feed? 

Timothy is low in muscle-making protein and fat 
and high in carbohydrates and indigestible fiber. It 
makes better feed for horses than for cows. 

17. Do animals get all the food value from hay, straw, and 

grain ? 

No, only from forty to fifty per cent of the food in 



xcii ELEMENTAEY AGRTCULTUEE 

straw ; fifty to sixty-five of that in hay ; and seventy- 
five to ninety of that in grain. 

18. Why is the net value of hay so much less than that of 

grains ? 

Because it contains a far less amount of food and 
because a larger proportion of the energy of the food 
is used up in masticating and digesting it. 

19. Is this energy used a dead loss? 

No. It generates heat and helps to keep the animal 
warm. 

20. When should timothy hay and straw be fed ? 

For wintering mature animals. 

21. When is it a mistake to feed timothy hay or straw 

alone ? 

They should not be used alone to feed to working 
animals, to growing stock, or to milch cows. 

22. What are the disadvantages of timothy hay compared 
• with other hay ? 

It produces but one crop a year ; it grows very little 
for several weeks after it is harvested, and thus if the 
weather be hot and dry many plants are injured ; it is 
slow to start in the spring; and it does not produce a 
dense sod. 

23. How much seed may be raised per acre? 

Timothy produces from four hundred to five hun- 
dred pounds of seed per acre. 

24. What is the weight of a bushel of timothy seed? 

The seed weighs forty-five pounds per bushel. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES xciii 

25. Is timothy used for anything else than hay? 

It is used in nearly all pasture mixtures. 

26. Does it hold well in pasture? 

No. It gives place to other grasses in a few years. 

27. Is timothy a good milk producer? 

No. It is a very poor food for cows. Clover is 
more than twice as valuable for milch cows, and 
alfalfa is still better. 

LEGUMES' 

1. What are the chief leguminous crops? 

The chief legumes are clover, alfalfa, soy bean, cow- 
pea, velvet bean, and vetch. 

2. What makes legumes a highly desirable food for stock ? 

They contain a relatively high percentage of protein. 

3. Why is a leguminous crop good for the soil ? 

Because these plants have upon their roots innum- 
erable nodules in which live bacteria which gather a 
great deal of nitrogen from the air. Much of this 
nitrogen is left stored in the roots, and later crops feed 
upon it. 

4. Why is this deposit of nitrogen in the soil desirable? 

Because all crops need nitrogen in order to mature, 
and they cannot take this nitrogen direct from the 
air, but are only able to take it from the soil. 

5. Sometimes it is difficult to get a stand of alfalfa, soy 

bean, or even clover. What is the difficulty ? 



xciv ELEMENTARY AGEICULTUEE 

The soil may be deficient in the bacteria needed by 
the plant. 

6. "What is the remedy? 

Over each acre of the new field scatter one hundred 
pounds or more of soil from a field where the crop 
has grown and this will give the needed bacteria. 
This process is called inoculation. 

7. Is there no other way of starting alfalfa, clover, and 

the like on new soil? 

Sometimes a heavy coating of manure and lime will 
give the legume a hold. Repeated sowing of the same 
crop wiU enable the right bacteria to develop in the 
soil until it will grow a good crop. 

8. What is the best way to inoculate a new field with soil 

from the old? 

After the new field is plowed scatter a hundred 
pounds or more per acre of the soil from a field con- 
taining the right bacteria and harrow it in at once 
before the bacteria are killed by drying and sunlight. 

9. Can one expect the bacteria of a clover field to give a 

start to alfalfa or soy bean or other legume? 

No. Each legume has its peculiar bacteria and un- 
less the legumes are closely related inoculation is often 
necessary. 

10. Why do legumes make good food for stock? 

Because they help to make a balanced ration. Farm- 
ers who give no heed to balancing rations lose money. 

11. How is this explained " 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES XCV 

The great bulk of grain and roughage which is used 
for stock feed contains an abundance of starch and 
other heat-forming substance, but is deficient in pro- 
tein, or muscle-forming foods. Both the whole plant 
of legumes, as well as the seed, contain a high per- 
centage of protein, which balances the starch and fats 
of other foods. 
12. Do human beings need a balanced ration, too? 

Yes. Men eat meat to balance the starchy potatoes, 
just as growing cattle need clover or alfalfa or cowpea 
hay to balance the grain or stover of maize. If any 
animal can not secure a balanced feed it overtaxes its 
digestion in an effort to secure the missing elements. 
1.3. What is the chief element of food furnished by the 
legume ? 

It is nitrogen. A ton of alfalfa, clover, or cowpea 
hay contains more nitrogen than a ton of timothy, or 
fodder ; it contains more nitrogen than a ton of corn 
or oats. 

14. Is manure formed from legumes particularly valuable ? 

Since nitrogen is the most expensive of commercial 
fertilizers, manure produced from legumes, being rich 
in nitrogen, is more valuable than that from other 
feed. 

15. "Why do legumes leave the soil in better condition 

than grains? 

Legumes leave in and on the soil a larger quantity 
of vegetation than do cereals, and this organic matter 



xcvi ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 

contains relatively a great quantity of nitrogen, phos- 
phoric acid, and potash, which become valuable for 
other crops with the decay of the vegetation. 

16. Do not grass crops leave behind a large quantity of 

vegetation in the form of roots, stems, and the like ? 
Yes, but this vegetation is not so rich in nitrogen, 
phosphorus and potash as is that of legumes. 

17. How do the roots of legumes compare with grasses? 

The roots of red clover and alfalfa are much longer, 
from six to ten feet, and often extend far down when 
the soil will permit. 

18. What advantage comes from the deeper root habits 

of most legumes? 

They not only secure food from lower depths, but 
leave a part of it near the surface to feed shallower- 
rooted crops. 

19. How does the organic matter left by the crop improve 

drainage ? 

The long tap roots of red clover and alfalfa, decay- 
ing, leave openings for the passage of water and thus 
assist drainage. 

20. How does the decay of large amounts of vegetable 

matter near the surface improve the physical con- 
dition of the soil? 

It makes the surface looser and more porous and 
so enables more water to enter instead of running off 
on the surface, and it also enables the soil to hold 
more water, which is needed in abundance by plants. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS XCvii 

RED CLOVER 

1. "What other names has red clover? 

It is known as common clover, June clover, meadow 
clover, broad-leafed clover, and meadow trefoil. 

2. To what depth do the roots extend? 

The tap root, which often forks into two or more 
branches, sometimes extends more than six feet into 
the ground, but their usual length is about two feet. 

3. Do all clover roots extend straight down ? 

No, the secondary roots, which are numerous, arise 
from the upper third of the tap root and spread 
through the surface soil. 

4. Can clover withstand a drought? 

The long tap root reaches moisture beyond the dan- 
ger from the ordinary drought. 

5. Is red clover seed often adulterated? 

Not often. Of twenty-eight samples examined by 
the Ohio station only one was below ninety-three per 
cent pure. Standard purity should be ninety-eight 
per cent or more. 

6. How old may red clover seed be and still be safe? 

It seems unwise to use seed over three years old. 

7. How widely distributed is the clover crop? 

It is grown throughout the United States and 
Canada east of the hundredth meridian and north of 
the Gulf States, on the Pacific coast, and in many for- 
eign countries of temperate climate. 



xcviii ELEMENTARY AGEICULTUEE 

8. How long does the red clover plant live? 

By some it is called a biennial, by others a perennial 
of a few years' duration. 

9. How does its life compare with timothy? 

"When timothy and clover are grown together it is 
usual for the first crop to be largely clover, the sec- 
ond year about half and half, the third year largely, 
if not quite wholly, timothy. 

10. To what climate is red clover adapted ? 

It is adapted to a temperate climate. It will not 
stand as much cold and moisture as alsike clover, nor 
as much heat and drought as alfalfa. 

11. Will it grow on all soils? 

On all but the poorest if the rainfall is ample, but 
it is best adapted to well-drained loams. 

12. If clover will not grow where it formerly grew, what 

assistance is needed? 

Apply a generous coat of stable manure and lime, 
the manure to hold moisture for early growth and the 
lime to furnish proper conditions for the growth of 
the nodules of bacteria. 

13. When is the best time to sow clover seed? 

It may be sown at any time during the growing 
season but early spring sowing gives the best results. 

14. What dangers must be avoided? 

The young plants may be killed by a sharp freeze 
or by a few days dry spell ; but as drought is more 
to be feared than freezing, it is best to sow early. 



QUESTIONS AM) ANSWERS 



XCIX 



15. Should the seed of clover l)e covered? 

Yes, by a light covering of soil whether secured by 
harrowing or rolling. 

16. Is it wise to sow on a late snow? 

Yes, because the seed sink into the liquid mud pro- 
duced by the melting snow. 

17. How may clover seed be sown late on fall grain crops? 

When the clover seed is sown on fall grains it may 
be harrowed in without injury to the grain. This is 
especially desirable on heavy clays and soils lacking in 
organic matter. 

18. Is harrowing needed on loam soils? 

No, on loams rich in organic matter, rolling is all 
that is needed to cover the clover seed. 

19. What are the objections to seeding with spring grain 

using seeder attached to grain drills? 

This is often done with good results or the clover 
may be seeded after the grain by use of a wheel- 
barrow seeder. 

20. How" much red clover seed should be sown? 

Ten pounds to the acre or eighty-five seeds a square 
foot is about the average when sown alone, but many 
farmers use twice this amount. 

21. How much is used when sown with timothy or other 

grasses ? 

From six to eight pounds will give good results. 

22. What are the causes of failure in red clover? 

The difficulty may be one of several. It may be 



C ELEMENTAEY AGKICULTUEE 

fungous diseases or insect enemies or lack of a plant 
food such as potash ; or the soil may be acid or it may 
be lacking in the nitrogen-gathering bacteria. 

23. What is the best time to harvest red clover? 

Most authorities agree that the best time is when 
one-third of the heads have just begun to turn brown. 

24. Why is curing red clover more difficult than curing 

grasses ? 

For the first crop the weather is liable to be unfa- 
vorable; the plant contains a higher percentage of 
water, which requires time to evaporate; clover ab- 
sorbs rain more readily than timothy when placed in 
piles. The leaves and heads are more likely to become 
dusty when rained upon or when improperly cured. 

25. How is it cured? 

No specific directions can be given. Much sun- 
shine is necessary; it must not be rained upon; it 
should be turned in order to cure quickly; and it 
should not be handled too much. 

26. When should clover be cut for seed? 

The crop should be cut when the flower heads are 
in the main brown or black and the seeds mostly hard. 

27. Why is the second crop best for seed? 

The second crop seeds more abundantly because the 
bumblebees have become numerous and they cross- 
fertilize the crop. The second crop is also less likely 
to fall down because it does not grow so luxuriantly. 

28. What is the best use for clover hay? 
t 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ci 

Because it is high in nitrogen, it makes fine feed for 
milch cows and for growing animals, especially sheep. 

29. Is clover hay good for horses? 

No, because it is liable to be dusty and to give 
horses the heaves. 

30. Which is better to restore the fertility of the soil, 

red or alsike clover? 

•Red clover adds more fertility because of the 
greater amount of organic matter left in and upon 
the soil and because of the greater depth of its tap 
root. 

31. In what way is red clover better than alfalfa? 

It grows readily with grasses and fits better into 
almost any plan of rotation. 

32. Compare the value of plowing under a clover crop 

with a heavy coat of rich stable manure. 

Starr's Experiment Station found in the two and 
one-half tons of red clover on one acre : 138 pounds 
of nitrogen, 152 pounds of potash, and 32 pounds 
phosphoric acid. A ton of rich manure may contain : 
10 pounds of nitrogen, 8 pounds of potash, and 10 
pounds phosphoric acid. Thus the clover on this one 
acre contained as much nitrogen as 13 tons of ma- 
nure ; as much potash as 20 tons of manure ; and as 
much phosphoric acid as three tons of manure. 

33. Compare red clover with timothy as a feed. 

Clover hay contains three times as much protein 
as timothy. But if the feed ration already contains 



eii ELEMENTAET AGEICULTUEE 

sufficient protein for the needs of the animal then 
clover hay is no better than timothy. Most feeds are, 
however, short in protein, and clover helps to balance 
them. 
34. When is clover superior to timothy? 

For growing cattle and sheep and for milch cows 
and in all feed rations that lack protein. 



ALFALFA 

1. What is unusual about the root of the alfalfa plant? 

It has a strong, deep-growing taproot which will 
have reached a depth of five feet in six months. 

2. How deep is the taproot of alfalfa known to reach? 

It is reported by one authority to have been found 
at a depth of forty -five feet. Another has reported 
a depth of more than a hundred feet. 

3. What effect has the water table on alfalfa roots? 

They will cease to grow when they reach the water 
table or water-soaked earth. Alfalfa refuses to grow 
in soil that is not well drained. 

4. How many stems grow from one taproot? 

Sometimes with old plants twenty or thirty stems 
arise from one crown. 

5. How may alfalfa seed be distinguished from that of 

clover ? 

Alfalfa seed has a light olive-green color, while red 
clover seed is purple and yellow. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ciji 

6. How many pounds of alfalfa seed to the bushel? 

Sixty pounds are sold for a bushel. 

7. How is alfalfa seed sometimes adulterated? 

By mixing with it black medic seed imported from 
Europe. But this is now forbidden by law. 

8. What is the most serious impurity of alfalfa? 

The dodder, of which there are three kinds. 

9. What are the chief varieties of alfalfa ? 

One of the two chief types has a dark green color, 
narrow leaves with red stems, and usually deep pur- 
ple flowers; while the other has green stems and much 
lighter flowers. 

10. Which is considered the better variety? 

The red-stem variety is leafier and earlier but a 
little less vigorous than the green stem variety. 

11. What climate is best suited to this plant? 

Alfalfa is naturally adapted to a warm or a tem- 
perate climate, though the Grimm Alfalfa may be 
grown in colder latitudes. 

12. Why is alfalfa drought-resisting? 

Because the long taproot reaches down to moist soil, 
however dry the surface soil. 

13. What conditions hinder alfalfa growth? 

Excessive rainfall or poor drainage or an acid soil. 

14. Will alfalfa spread over the soil like blue grass or 

white clover? 

Only slightly. Grasses may spread between alfalfa 
plants and reduce their growth. 



CJV ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUEE 

15. What bearing does this have upon soil preparation 

for alfalfa? 

It shows that the seed bed for alfalfa should be well 
pulverized and clean of weeds and weed seeds. 

16. What crops may well precede alfalfa ? 

Any crop that secures thorough tillage, such as 
corn, or peas, or root crops. 

17. What fertilizer is needed for alfalfa? 

Twenty loads of good stable manure to the, acre 
gives good results, in spite of the weed seeds thus 
scattered. On many soils in humid sections, lime 
should be used at the rate of one thousand pounds to 
three thousand pounds per acre. 

18. How should manure and lime be applied in moist 

climates ? 

The manure may be spread during the winter or 
spring, followed by plowing. Then a week before 
seeding, the lime is spread and immediately worked 
into the soil with spring tooth or disk harrow. The 
soil is then worked to a tine seed bed by harrow and 
roller or drag. 

19. Is the manure applied in the same way in dry 

climates? 

No, because manure worked into the soil may cause 
it to dry out too rapidly. In dry soils it is better to 
top dress with manure after a stand has been secured. 

20. Is lime needed in the West? 

It is seldom needed west of the Missouri River. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS CV 

21. Will manure and lime give a stand everywhere? 

No. In soil moderately adapted to alfalfa it may 
be necessary in addition to the manure and lime to 
inoculate tlie soil per acre with from one hundred 
to four hundred pounds of soil from an alfalfa field 
so as to introduce the proper bacteria. 

22. If the young alfalfa in three weeks lacks the proper 

green color, what is needed? 

More nitrogen is needed and may be supplied by 
one hundred pounds of nitrate of soda to the acre. 

23. When should the young crop be first cut? 

If sown without grain or nurse crop it should be 
clipped well above the crown about July first. This 
will retard the growth of weeds and cause more 
alfalfa stems to branch off, thus shading the ground 
and securing a better yield. 

24. How long may a field be left in this crop? 

Alfalfa has been known to grow good crops continu- 
ously for fifteen years or more without re-seeding, but 
the best crops come the third and fourth years after 
seeding. 

25. What rotations are recommended for alfalfa? 

For humid climates maize one year; barley, with 
which alfalfa is seeded, one year; alfalfa four years. 
Others divide the farm into five fields and keep one- 
fifth of the farm in alfalfa all the time. 

26. How much seed is sown per acre? 

From fifteen to thirty pounds per acre. Thick 



cvi ELEMENTARY AGEICULTURE 

seeding is better because the crop stands better and 
the weeds are kept down. 

27. When is the best time to sow? 

In the month of April, though if the weather is 
favorable it may be sown any time during the growing 
season. 

28. Why are poor results obtained by sowing with oats? 

Because the seeding is apt to be done to suit the 
oats and not to suit the alfalfa. 

29. How deep is the seeding? 

The depth depends on the soil and climate, the drier 
the climate and the sandier the soil, the deeper the 
sowing. In most climates good results are had by 
sowing with seeder attached to a grain drill, dropping 
tlie seed just ahead of the hoes. 

30. How is deeper sowing obtained? 

By using the grain drill itself and mixing soil or 
bran with the seed to make it feed evenly and yet not 
use too much seed. 

31. Is any nurse crop helpful to alfalfa? 

It is seldom an advantage and may be a disadvan- 
tage if the plant food or moisture of the soil is low. 

32. What is the best nurse crop for alfalfa? 

Barley is better than oats because it takes less mois- 
ture from the young alfalfa and barley it; cut earlier 
than oats. 

33. What is the most injurious fungous disease of alfalfa ?■ 

The leaf spot. 



(QUESTIONS AND Ax\!SVVERS CyiJ 

34. "What is the best remedy for if? 

j\Iow the crop as soon as the disease is noticed. 

35. What are the injurious insects? 

The chief one is the grasshopper. 

36. How may one fight this pest? 

By plowing in the fall to bury the eggs and spring 
harrowing. 

37. How many cuttings may be expected? 

The number depends upon the climate and soil and 
the stage at which the crop is cut. Commonly there 
are from two to five, but in Arizona seven cuttings 
are known. 

38. In humid climates when should the crop be cut? 

When the lower leaves begin to turn yellow even 
though but few flowers have appeared, or perhaps 
none. 

39. When is the crop cut in irrigated or dry climates? 

When the alfalfa is coming into blossom. 

40. What makes alfalfa hard to cure in humid climates? 

Its juicy stems cure slowly, and if handled much 
with tedder, hay rake, and other tools many of the 
leaves, which are the best part of the hay, fall off. 

41. When can alfalfa be teddered with least harm? 

Just as soon as it has become wilted. 

42. What is the best method of saving the crop in moist 

climates ? 

It should be raked and put into cocks when quite 
green. 



eyjii ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 

43. What effect will rain have upon alfalfa in the cock? 

Cocks are not greatly injured save where the hay- 
touches the ground. If the weather is such that there 
is danger of moulding, the cocks must be spread out 
and rebuilt. 

44. When is alfalfa made into silage? 

When on account of the weather there is trouble 
in curing the last crop, it is sometimes mixed with 
corn in the silo, one load of alfalfa to two of corn, 
both being put through the cutter. 

45. How does alfalfa compare with red clover in yield? 

Alfalfa yields twice as much tonnage per acre an- 
nually as does clover. 

46. How do these crops compare in digestible nutrients? 

A pound of alfalfa contains more than twice the 
amount of digestible nutrients that is obtained from 
a pound of red clover. 

47. Does alfalfa contain more or less nitrogen than 

clover ? 

Alfalfa contains nearly four times as much diges- 
tible nitrogen as does clover. 

48. What stock is alfalfa good for? 

It can be fed with good results to horses, cattle, 
sheep, hogs, and laying hens. 

49. How will the introduction of alfalfa into the feed 

ration of milch cows and fattening cattle affect it? 
It will greatly reduce the grain needed to balance 
the ration. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS cix 

50. What other article of food is alfalfa similar to ? 

In composition and digestibility, alfalfa is quite 
similar to that of bran. 



CATTLE 

1. From where have the improved breeds of cattle come? 

From western Europe, chiefly Great Britain. 

2. How are cattle classified? 

As beef breeds, dual or general-purpose breeds, and 
dairy breeds. 

3. Are the beef breeds profitable for milk? 

Some do not give enough milk for their calves. 
None except the Shorthorn gives enough to be con- 
sidered profitable for dairy use. 

4. What are the chief points about the beef breeds? 

They have plump bodies of blocky appearance. The 
back is broad, the neck and legs short, and all quar- 
ters are quite thick. 

5. Name the chief beef breeds. 

(1) Shorthorns, including Polled Durham, (2) 
Hereford, (3) Aberdeen Angus, (4) Galloway. 

6. Where did the Shorthorns originate? 

In northeastern England. They are now very 
popular. 

7. Why the name? 

It was given to distinguish them from the long- 
horned cattle of England. 



ex ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTURE 

8. "What are the Bates Shorthorns? 

A branch so much inclined toward the dairy type 
as to be classed as general-purpose animals. 

9. How do the Polled Durhams differ from Shorthorns? 

''Polled" means hornless, which is their only char- 
acteristic difference from the Shorthorns. 

10. What are the prevailing colors of Shorthorns? 

Red, white, and roan. 

11. Whence came the Herefords? (Pronounced Hereford.) 

They originated in Herefordshire, England, and 
were first brought to this country by Henry Clay. 

12. What is the color ? 

Herefords are red with white faces and often some 
other white markings along the back and on the feet 
or tail. 

13. How do they compare with Shorthorns? 

The Herefords are more blocky and a little heavier. 

14. What makes Herefords so popular? 

They are well suited to grazing and fatten easily 
on the grassy plains of the West where they have 
been extensively mixed with native cattle. This cross- 
ing makes a hardy and profitable beef breed. 

15. Are Polled Herefords more desirable? 

Hornless cattle are always to be desired, for horned 
cattle often do each other and sometimes their keepers 
much harm. 

16. What other names are given to Aberdeen Angus 

cattle? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Cxi 

The hornless are called Polled Angus, those with 
horns, "Doddies. " 

17. Describe the Aberdeen Angus ? 

They are black, sleek, short-legged, and plump, a 
little smaller than the Shorthorns. 

18. What qualities make the Aberdeen Angus popular? 

They are quiet and gentle, fatten easily, either on 
blue-grass pasture or in close feeding quarters; their 
beef is of the best quality, bringing the highest market 
price. 

19. What is the appearance of the Galloway cattle? 

They are black with shaggy hair, hornless, and 
have very short legs. The hair is so long and curly 
that their skins are used for making rugs. 

20. What are the marked qualities of the Galloways? 

They are hardy and can subsist on the poorest 
roughage or pasture. Their beef is of good quality, 
selling next to that of the Angus, but they respond 
rather too slowly to good feeding. 

21. What are the chief general-purpose breeds? 

Devon cattle. Red Polled, and Brown Swiss. Also 
the Bates family of Shorthorns. 

22. Under what conditions are general-purpose cattle 

desirable ? 

They are popular with general farmers, because 
they are fair milkers and the calves are heavy enough 
to be sold as veal. 

23. What is probably the best general-purpose breed? 



cxii ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 

The Red Polled. The cows give a good flow of 
rich milk and when dry fatten easily, while the steers 
are good beef animals. 

24. What are the marked qualities of the Brown Swiss? 

They come from Switzerland and are well suited to 
foraging for themselves, yet they respond well to good 
treatment and feeding. 

25. What are the chief dairy breeds? 

(1) The Jerseys for butter; (2) Guernseys for a 
good quality of cream; (3) Holsteins or Holstein- 
Friesians for market milk; (4) Ayrshires for cheese, 
home milk, and infant feeding. 

26. Where did the Jersey cow originate? 

On a small island by that name in the English 
Channel. 

27. How was the breed kept pure? 

By stringent laws against the importation of cattle. 
Any cattle imported to the island were slaughtered 
within twenty-four hours. 

28. Why is this the most popular dairy breed in America ? 

Both because of the abundance and the richness of 
the milk, but especially the richness. 

29. What are the markings of the Jersey? 

Color, squirrel gray or fawn; nose, usually black 
or dark colored ; the tongue and switch may be either 
black or white. 

30. What is considered a high yield of butter for a 

Jersey ? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS cxiii 

''Loretta D." produced 330 pounds of butter in 
120 days. 

31. Where did the Guernsey originate ? 

On the Island of Guernsey in the English Channel. 

32. How do they compare in yield with the Jersey? 

They yield about the same amount of milk and 
butter, but the cream is smoother and the fat particles 
not so coarse as that of the Jersey. 

33. What of the appearance of the Guernsey? 

They are a little larger than the Jersey and more 
rugged in appearance with colors of red-and-white or 
fawn-and-white and a flesh-colored nose. 

34. Whence come the Holstein-Friesian, commonly called 

Holstein ? 

From two provinces in Holland, for which they are 
named. 

35. How are they identified? 

They are much larger than the Jersey, and black 
and white in color. 

36. What of the Holstein milk? 

It is of fair quality but not rich in fat. Holsteins, 
. however, are the heaviest milk producers of all cattle. 

37. What is one of the best records? 

"Colantha 4's Johanna" produced 27,432 pounds of 
milk and 1,164 pounds of butter in one year. 

38. Under what conditions is this breed popular? 

Among dairymen who sell milk in the markets of 
large cities and in cheese-making districts. 



exiv ELEMENTARY AGEICULTURE 

39. "What peculiarity of Holstein milk makes it especially 

desirable for city delivery? 

The fat particles are very fine and hence the cream 
does not rise quickly. 

40. "What makes the Ayrshire cow popular? 

The same qualities as the Holsteins, an abundance 
of milk but not rich in fat. 

41. "What are the markings of the Ayrshire? 

They are smaller than the Holstein, larger than the 
Jersey, with a color of red, brown, and white, often 
mixed. 

42. Are there any peculiar qualities of Ayrshire milk? 

It has much solid matter which denotes high food 
value and cheese-making qualities. 



HORSES 

1. "Whence came the horses of America? 

They were either imported or are offsprings of im- 
ported stock. 

2. When were they first introduced? 

Columbus brought some on his second voyage, 
others were brought by Cortes and De Soto and by 
French, Dutch, and English settlers. 

3. "Where did the Texas ponies originate? 

They are probably descendants of horses abandoned 
by De Soto. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS CXV 

4. Has any distinct breed originated in America? 

Yes, the saddle horses and trotters. 

5. How many types of horses are there? 

There are three : the draft type, the light horse type, 
and the dual or general-purpose breed. 

6. What are the pure breed groups? 

The draft breed, coach breeds, light breeds, and 
ponies. 

7. What are the chief draft breeds ? 

Clydesdale, Percheron, English Shire, and Belgian. 

8. What are the chief coach breeds? 

Hackney, German and French coach, and the Cleve- 
land Bay. 

9. What are the chief light breeds? 

Thoroughbred, American trotting horse, and Amer- 
ican saddle horse. 

10. What are the chief pony breeds? 

The Welsh, Shetland, and Exmoor. 

11. What are the qualities of the Percheron? 

Percherons are docile, intelligent, active, heavy in 
weight and are steady pullers under loads. They 
have excellent feet and are the most popular breed in 
America. 

12. How are the Clydesdales marked? 

They usually have white markings on the legs and 
a strip of white on the face. The thick stout legs are 
heavily fringed below the knees with long, shaggy 
hair. 



cxvi ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 

13. How do Clydesdales compare with Percherons? 

The Clydes usually have smaller bodies and longer 
legs, which are supposed to allow more action. 

14. Why are Clydes well suited to farm work? 

Because of their strength, rapid walking gait, and 
gentle disposition. 

15. What qualities mark the Belgian? 

The Belgian is probably the heaviest of our draft 
breeds. His body is more blocky, the breast wider, 
and the neck thicker than the other draft breeds. 

16. What are the chief qualities desired in coach horses? 

They are large, with high-knee action and tine style ; 
and they draw medium loads with moderate speed. 

17. What distinguishes the American or Kentucky saddle 

horse ? 

They are quick in action, show good style, and may 
develop some speed if desired. Besides the walk, trot, 
and canter of other horses, they have also the run- 
ning-walk, the slow pace, the fox trot, and the single- 
foot. 

18. What is a mule? 

It is a cross between a donkey and a horse. 

19. What are the chief qualities of the mule? 

Mules are faithful, reliable, quick in movement, and 
have wonderful endurance. The common idea that 
they are more treacherous and more apt to kick than a 
horse, does them an injustice. 

20. What attention does a horse's feet need? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES cxvii 

They should be carefully examined in case of lame- 
ness. The hoofs should be trimmed when overgrown 
and the shoes should be suited to the kind of work the 
horse is to do. Shoes should be regularly changed. 

21. What other points need watching? 

The shoulders should be watched in order to keep 
them from soreness. Bathing with salt water will 
protect the shoulders. 

22. What is likely to be the trouble if a horse refuses corn 

on the cob? 
Swollen gums. 

23. What per cent of the horse's n-eight is muscle? 

About forty per cent. 

24. How are the muscles employed to produce motion? 

They are attached to the bones and when they con- 
tract they cause the bones to which they are fastened 
to move. 

25. Is horse power the cheapest power on the farm? 

There is cheaper power for certain purposes. The 
gas engine is cheaper power, but it will not do all 
the work of the horse. 

26. About what is the cost of horse labor on the farm? 

Careful accounts place it at eight cents per hour, 
or eighty cents for a ten-hour day, when the horses 
are owned on the farm. 

27. What does it cost to keep a work horse a year on 

the farm? 

The United States Department of Agriculture and 



Cxviii ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTUEE 

the Minnesota Experiment Station by keeping accurate 
records on twenty-four Minnesota farms, show the 
average yearly cost to be $84. 

28. What is the average number of hours of work a year 

for each horse? 

About one thousand hours. 

29. What elements enter into the cost of keeping a horse 

on the farm? 

Feed, labor of caring for him, depreciation, interest 
on investment, shelter, shoeing, and depreciation and 
repair of harness. 

30. How can horses be made to do double duty? 

The farm work may be done with mares that raise 
colts, and at least a portion of the feed for the mares 
will be paid for in the value of the colt. 

31. How else may the cost of horse labor be reduced ? 

By keeping fewer horses and occasionally hiring an 
extra horse for a few days. 

32. How does diversified farming affect the cost of horse 

labor ? 

By distributing the need for horse labor over a 
longer season through diversified crops, fewer horses 
will be needed. 

33. Can one economize by having cheap horses? 

No, it is important to have good strong horses for 
it costs as much to feed a poor one as a good one. 

34. Do farm tools enter into the horse question? 

The poorer the implements the less a horse can do 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Cxix 

in a day; therefore the more horses will be needed. 

35. What is the greatest item of expense in keeping a 

horse ? 

Feed is the chief item of expense. The average cost 
of grain fed to a horse in a year is about $50. 

36. For what purposes does a horse need food? 

To maintain his body, to replace muscle broken 
down by work, and to supply the energy necessary to 
perform the work. 

37. Shall we feed much roughage to a work horse? 

A horse has but one stomach and that is not nearly 
so large as that of a cow, so he should be fed oftener 
than a cow, and on more concentrated food. 

38. What is the favorite feed for the horse? 

Oats and timothy hay. 

39. What cheaper ration might be fed? 

Corn and clover hay, if the hay is good, bright and 
well-cured. Poor, dusty clover hay is not good for 
horses. 

40. Give three daily rations for a 1,200-pound horse at 

heavy work. 

(1) 18 pounds oats and 14 pounds timothy hay; or 
(2) 15 pounds corn and 14 pounds clover hay, or (3) 
10 pounds corn, 7 pounds bran, and 14 pounds tim- 
othy hay. 

41. If a horse on one of the above rations is to stand idle 

a few days what change should be )nade ? 
The grain should be reduced considerably. 



cxx ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUKE 

SHEEP 

1. In M'hat respect do sheep resemble cattle and differ 

from hogs? 

In the matter of diet : sheep can eat and thrive 
on roughage like cattle. Hogs have a comparativelj' 
small stomach and a greater proportion of their ration 
must be grain. 

2. Why should most farms have sheep ? 

Because they eat w^eeds, leaves, and shrubs, and 
thus help to keep the farm clean. 

3. What are the chief types of sheep 1 

There are two : the mutton type, blocky in form, 
which correspond to the beef type of cattle ; and the 
wool type, which are lean and angular in form like the 
dairy cow. 

4. What are the chief mutton breeds? 

They are the long-wooled Cotswold and Lincoln, 
and the medium-wooled Shropshire, Southdown, 
Hampshire, Oxford, and Dorset. 

5. What are the wool breeds? 

The ^Merinos, of which there are three breeds: the 
American ]Merino, the Rambouillet (Ram-boo-ya') or 
French Merino, and the Delaine ^Merino. 

6. What are the chief merits of the jMerinos? 

They are all hardy and good grazers and therefore 
are well suited to the large sheep farms of the West. 

7. What advantage comes from their wrinkles? 



II 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS cxxi 

The deeper and more numerous the wrinkles the 
greater the skin surface for the growth of wool. 

8. What of the Merino wool? 

It is very fine in quality and the fleece is much 
heavier than those of other breeds. 

9. Is jMerino mutton of value? 

The mutton is not of good quality and none but 
\he largest Merino sheep are killed for their mutton. 

10. What is the weight of the fleece? 

In some strains of Merinos the clip of wool may 
equal one-fourth and sometimes one-third that of the 
animal's gross weight. 

11. What weight do the mutton breeds dress? 

They dress out from fifty to sixty per cent of their 
live weight. 

12. Why are sheep said to produce two crops a year? 

They produce a crop of wool and a crop of lambs. 

13. Will the wool crop pay their way? 

In many cases it does, leaving the lamb crop as 
clear profit. 

14. Are there any farm animals that require as little care 

as sheep? 

No, sheep require comparatively little labor and 
special attention except during the lambing season. 

15. How does the income of sheep compare with that of 

cows ? 

From fiv. to seven sheep will bring in as much profit 
in a year as one cow and with less care or labor. 



cxxii ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 

16. Do sheep need protection from cold? 

They are so well protected by their wool that they 
need little or no protection from the cold. 

17. What shelter, if any, is used? 

A board or straw shed closed tight on three sides 
shelters them from rains and drafts. 

18. Will such a shed do for the lambing season? 

No, if the lambs come in cold weather. New-born 
lambs must not be chilled. 

19. What difficulty do some farmers find in keeping sheep ? 

The difficulty of fencing them in with the same 
fences that will suffice for other stock. 

20. How much more does a sheep fence cost than a cattle 

fence ? 

A cattle fence can be built for from twenty to 
twenty-five cents per rod, while a sheep fence may 
cost from forty-five to sixty cents per rod. 

21. What makes a good winter feed for sheep? 

The winter ration should include plenty of roughage 
such as clover hay, cut corn fodder, and oat straw. 
Sheep are fond of root crops and will eat plenty of 
sugar beets, mangels, or turnips. 

HOGS 

1. What is the origin of the present breeds of hogs? 

They have been developed from the wild hogs of 
Europe and Asia. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES cxxii] 

2. What are the chief types? 

There are two: the lard, or fat type and the bacon, 
or lean type. 

3. What are the chief breeds of the fat type? 

Poland-China, Berkshire, Chester-White, and Duroc- 
Jersey. 

4. Where did these breeds originate? 

All but the Berkshire were developed in America. 
Swine from Europe are not so well suited to this 
country. 

5. What states developed these breeds? 

The Poland-China originated in Ohio; the Chester- 
White in Chester County, Pennsylvania; the Duroc- 
Jersey in New Jersey. 

6. What makes the Duroc-Jersey especially popular? 

The breed is liked throughout the country because 
of the large litters of pigs together with the good size 
and quick growth. 

7. What are the chief bacon breeds? 

The Yorkshires and Tamworths. 

8. What are the chief characteristics of lard hogs? 

Lard hogs have large hams and shoulders, short 
bodies, and broad backs and necks. They have deep 
layers that contain a large amount of lard-bearing 
tissue. 

9. What are the marked qualities of the bacon hogs? 

They are long in body, deep in sides, with rather 
narrow back, light hams and shoulders. Thev have 



CXxiv ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

strong muscular development and furnish choice hams 
and bacon. 

10. Why should every farm have some hogs? 

Because hogs will eat any kind of slops or waste 
that other stock refuse, and tliey produce meat more 
cheaply than other stock. They do not require such 
careful housing as other stock. 

11. What proportion of live weight will they dress? 

Hogs "dress out" from seventy to eighty-five 
pounds per hundred live weight. 

12. What are some of the advantages of hog raising? 

A brood sow may produce from four to twenty pigs 
a year so the cost of a pig is less than that of a calf 
or a lamb. Hogs have large litters that mature quickly 
and do not require expensive shelter. They require 
less care than cattle to produce an equal income. 

13. What are some of the disadvantages of hog raising? 

They use but little roughage and need a great deal 
of grain. They are likely to die in large numbers 
from disease. 

14. What may be expected annually from a good brood 

sow? 

She will, if desired, produce two litters a year of 
from six to ten pigs. Fourteen pigs each weigh- 
ing 200 pounds at eight months make 2,800 pounds, 
which at five cents per pound makes an annual income 
of $140. 

15. Can hogs be vaccinated against cholera? 



i 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES CXXV 

Yes, cholera may be prevented by vaccination, but 
it is quite expensive. 

16. How does hog cholera spread? 

The germs are carried by diseased hogs, on men's 
clothes, by dogs, and by running water. 

17. What measures of prevention may be taken? 

Keep hogs well fed in clean, healthful quarters, 
■with opportunity for exercise and they will better 
resist disease. 

18. What shall be done in case cholera breaks out? 

Dispose of all hogs not infected, or separate the 
hogs into several bunches and keep these groups a 
considerable distance apart. 

19. What special care should be given a brood sow? 

They should have plenty of succulent and muscle- 
forming food, but not be overfed. They need plenty 
of exercise apart from other hogs. It is well to let 
them have the run of a good pasture with only grain 
enough to keep them in a thrift}^ condition. They 
must not get too fat. 

20. If only one litter of pigs is raised a year, when should 

they come? 

Early in the spring. This does away with expensive 
housing as they will need shelter only for the summer. 

21. Do sows raising two litters a year need more shelter? 

Yes, in that case good, warm quarters are needed, 
though they need not be expensive. 



CXXVi ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 

POULTRY 

1. Why do many farmers regard poultry raising as a 

small business? 

Because the profit comes in a little at a time. 

2. How does the annual poultry product of the United 

States compare with the dairy product? 
The poultry product is the greater. It brings in 
to the farmers millions of dollars annually. 

3. About what is the annual average income of the gen- 

eral farmer from poultry? 

It ranges from $60 to $150 per farm each year, 
with an average of about $100. 

4. What is the best breed of poultry? 

Different breeds suit different conditions. 

5. How are chickens classified? 

In three classes: egg breeds, meat breeds, and gen- 
eral-purpose breeds. 

6. Which are the egg-producing breeds? 

Leghorns, Minorcas, Spanish, and Andalusians. 

7. Name the meat-producers. 

Cochins, Brahmas, and Langshans. 

8. Give the general-purpose breeds. 

Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, and Orping- 
tons. 

9. How can one get eggs in winter? 

By supplying, as nearly as possible, summer con- 
ditions. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES CXXvii 

10. How make hens exercise in winter? 

By throwing the grain in loose straw or litter with 
fine sand under it. 

11. What substitute for the bugs and worms of the sum- 

mer bill-of-f are ? 

Scraps of meat and ground bone will take the place 
of insects. 

12. How can one furnish the green feed of summer? 

Cabbages, beets, or potatoes will supply this need; 
also mangels and carrots. 

13. What other requirements are necessary? 

Grit must be provided to aid in grinding the food, 
and crushed oyster shell will supply lime for the 
eggshells. 

14. What protection from cold do hens need in winter? 

The house should be kept warm enough to keep their 
combs from freezing and they should be protected 
from drafts of cold air. 

15. How can this be done and still provide ventilation? 

By muslin-covered open windows and, in extreme 
weather, a muslin curtain closing in the roost. 

16. What is the best way to fight lice? 

By dust baths and by whitewashing the building 
twice a year and spraying the roosts frequently with 
kerosene. 

17. What may be said of the location of the poultry 
■ house ? 

It should be on well-drained soil with ample yards 



cxxviii ele;mentaey agricultuke 

where some protection is afforded from the north and 
west winds by a hill, a dense evergreen grove, or a 
building. 

18. What directions may be given for the size of the 

poultry house? 

Not more than fifty hens should be kept together, 
and they can be housed in a space sixteen feet square. 

19. What is the usual shape of a poultry house? 

They are usually made from twelve to eighteen feet 
wide and as long as is needed for the flock. A house 
eighteen by thirty-two feet will house one hundred 
chickens if it is kept well cleaned. 

20. Why is light very necessary in the poultry house? 

Sunlight is the strongest known enemy of germs, so 
all farm animals should have light quarters. The 
poultry house should ])e so arranged that the sunlight 
will reach every portion of it some time in the day. 

21. What is the ratio of window space to floor space? 

One square foot of window to every sixteen or 
twenty square feet of floor. The windows should be 
on the south, high enough to permit light to reach the 
north side of the coop. 

22. What is a good ration for laying hens? 

For one hen one day .175 pounds wheat, .07 pounds 
ground bone, .022 pounds cabbage, with plenty of 
fresh water, grit, and oyster shell. 

23. What is the danger from feeding corn? 

Corn is fattening and mature hens may soon get too 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS cxxix 

fat to lay. Where corn is fed it should be given at 
the evening meal to keep the chickens warm. 

THE FEEDING OF STOCK 

1. Of what use is food to the ox? 

It builds up his body, warms him, and furnishes 
him with energy or motive power? 

2. Where does this energy come from? 

The energy comes from plant life. 

3. From where do the plants get it? 

From the earth and the sun's rays. 

4. Does nutrition, or the building up of the bodies of 

animals, differ from that of man? 
No, the foods are masticated by the teeth and 
digested in the stomach and intestines. 

5. Are the digestive tracts of all animals alike? 

No, they differ; but each is adapted to the classes 
of substances the animal feeds upon. 

6. What is peculiar about the digestion of birds and 

fowls ? 

They swallow their food whole without chewing. 
It passes first into the crop, where it is stored, and 
softened by soaking, and then into the gizzard. 
,7. Of what use is the gizzard? 

It is a thick-walled, muscular stomach whose pow^er- 
ful muscles break up the food. 
8. What is the chief difference between the digestive 
tract of the horse and the ox? 



exxx ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

The horse has a comparatively small, single stomach, 
while the stomach of ruminating animals has four 
parts or compartments. 
9. What are the ruminating animals? 

The chief ones on the farm are the cattle, sheep, and 
goats. They chew the cud and have split hoofs. 

10. Do ruminating animals chew the grass before swal- 

lowing ? 

When a sheep or cow bites off a bit of grass, it is 
moistened with saliva and swallowed without chewing, 
passing into the first stomach, or paunch, which is 
merely a storehouse. 

11. When do ruminants chew their coarse food? 

When they become quiet they regurgitate, or send 
back into the mouth, the balls of grass, called cuds, 
which are slowly ground fine between the teeth. 

12. What then becomes of the finely-ground cuds? 

They are again swallowed and pass into the second 
stomach, from there into the third, and then into the 
fourth, or true stomach, where digestion begins. 

13. Do ruminants digest food more thoroughly than the 

horse ? 

Yes, they digest a larger part of the foods than the 
horse, because they chew their food finer and take 
a longer time to digest it. 

14. Do ruminating animals fed on grains alone chew the 

cud? 

No, they do not. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES CXXxi 

15. Is there any truth in the idea of ' ' losing the cud ' ' ? 

There is no such thing as losing the cud. 

16. How many stomachs, or digestive sacs, has the horse? 

The pig? 

The stomachs of both the horse and the pig have 
but one sac. 

17. Does wetting, steaming, cooking or fermenting foods 
• before feeding pay ? 

No, this practice has declined. It is thought now 
that such treatments of foods have no favorable in- 
fluence. 

18. Do animals get any part of their food from the air 

as do plants? 
They do not. 

19. What are the different nutrients in feeds? 

There are five. They are proteids, fats, carbo- 
hydrates, mineral matters, and water. 

20. Of what use are the proteids? 

They form the tendons, muscles, gristle, hair, and 
hoofs and supply the proteids of blood and milk as 
well as that in the whites and yolks of eggs. 

21. What foods furnish fuel or heat for the body? 

The chief heat-giving foods are carbohydrates and 
fats. 

22. What foods are burned in the body for heat? 

Starches, sugars, and fats are oxidized, that is: 
burned in the body for heat just as coal is burned 
in a stove for heating or steam power. 



CXXxii ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUKE 

23. Upon what does the usefulness of a food depend? 

Upon the amount of nutrients it contains in a diges- 
tible form. 

24. Is it sufficient to know the proportions of proteids, 
carbohydrates, and fats in food? 

No, one must also know what per cent is digestible. 

25. What is the "nutritive ratio"? 

It is the ratio of digestible proteids, or tlesh-formiiig 
nutrients, to the digestible heat-forming substances. 

26. How does fat compare with carbohydrates for heat 

production ? 

Fat has two and one-fourth times as much heat 
energy per pound as carbohydrates. 

27. How is the "nutritive ratio" estimated? 

The digestible fats in grams is multiplied by two 
and one-fourth and the product added to the grams 
of digestible carbohydrates, thus giving the heat 
energy. The ratio of this to the grams of digestible 
proteids is the "nutritive ratio." 

28. Should the ratio be the same for all animals? 

No, animals at heavy work, when the muscle mate- 
rials are being used up, require, relatively, more 
proteids than when the same animals are at rest. 

29. What other animals require foods rich in proteids? 

Young growing animals require plenty of building 
material or proteids as do animals producing milk, 
eggs, or wool. 

30. When is a food balanced? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS exxxiii 

When the proteids and heat-producing substances 
are supplied in about the same ratio or proportion that 
they are consumed by the animal. 

31. Does an unbalanced ration do harm to the animal? 

No, but if the proportion is not right the animal may 
be using expensive proteids to supply heat or energy. 
It does, however, tax digestion unnecessarily. 

32. What are the cheapest energy-producing foods? 

Starchy foods will supply heat and muscular energy 
cheaply. 

33. What is a deficient ration? 

It is one on which the animal loses weight. 

34. What is a maintenance ration? 

It is one that allows just enough to keep the animal 
in good health without loss or gain. 

35. What is a growing ration? 

It is one that is sufficient to maintain the animal 
and provide a regular gain in weight. 

36. What is a work ration? 

It is one that will sustain an animal at work with- 
out loss of weight or vigor. 

37. What is roughage? 

Substances like hay and straw which contain a 
large per cent of indigestible matter, are called forage 
or roughage. 

38. What are concentrates? 

Those foods like grains and cottonseed meal, which, 
are nearly all digestible, are called concentrates. 



Cxxxiv ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 

39. How do horses and ruminating animals differ in the 

amount of roughage? 

Horses need about one-half of roughage, while rumi- 
nants need two-thirds of their rations to consist of 
roughage. 

40. Is it ever wise to feed on concentrates alone? 

No, because it cannot be digested thoroughly and 
disorder follows. 

41. Do animals with a balanced ration ever need a change? 

Yes, a change is relished by stock as by man. 

42. "What caution is necessary in changing rations? 

The change should be made gradually. 

43. Why are green feeds advisable in the winter? 

Because animals relish the variety and green food 
aids the digestion of other foods. 

44. How often do animals need salt? 

It should be placed where they can get it every day. 

45. How should it be supplied? 

Under a shed to prevent waste from rains. 

46. Do some animals need more than others? 

Ruminating animals like sheep and cattle need it 
more abundantly than horses. 

47. Why should dairy cows especially have plenty of salt? 

Because it aids digestion, improves the appetite, and 
lessens danger from disease. 

48. Is grinding grain for feed advisable? 

Several experiments have been made. In three trials 
with horses using both corn and oats, grinding caused 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEKS CXXXV 

an increase in digestibility of from three to fourteen 
per cent. 

49. Is grinding profitable? 

It depends upon the cost of grinding. If the miller 
takes one-tenth toll the practice is of doubtful economy. 
But if the farmer has a gas engine it will be profitable 
to grind grain for feed. 

50. How does the animal use heat energy? 

In muscular activity such as working, walking, 
breathing, the beating of the heart, the movements of 
the stomach and intestines. 

51. What becomes of the feed given, over and above the 

maintenance ration? 

The Hereford steer deposits it in steaks and thick 
quarters, the dairy cow makes of it the fat, sugar, and 
curd of milk. 

52. How many pounds above maintenance should be given 

a dairy cow? 

It depends on the cow. Some will not pay a profit 
on more than three or four pounds, while others may 
be given with profit twelve or fifteen pounds. 

53. Is this difference all in the breed? 

No, in every herd there are "good feeders" and 
"poor feeders," and the intelligent farmer breeds 
only from the former. 

54. How does one begin to fatten hogs or steers? 

By beginning with light rations and increasing 
gradually until the stock are on full feed. 



CXXXvi ELEMENTARY AGEICULTURE 

55. What effect has shelter on feeding? 

Shelter reduces the amount of feed. Exposure 
reduces the milk of dairy cows and the eggs of laying 
hens. Exposure uses up the animal's energy and it 
thus requires more food. 

56. In fattening steers for market, what is a good daily 

gain? 

An average of two pounds live weight per day for 
a long period is satisfactory. 

57. What is the fat-forming food? 

Carbohydrates. 

58. Is there much need of protein here? 

No, the amount of protein needed for fattening 
mature animals is very small, almost nothing. 

59. How nuich and what kind of feed can be fed daily 

with profit to a 1,000-pound steer? 
From 8 to 10 pounds of coarse food, dry, and from 
15 to 18 pounds of grain. 

60. Will this ration suit steers smaller and larger than 

1,000 pounds? 

Those smaller need more feed per 1,000 pounds live 
weight, and very heavy steers need less than this 
amount per 1,000 pounds. 

61. What are the two important things to keep in mind 

in fixing the ration? 

The ration should be palatable ; that is, stock should 
like it, and it should be composed of a variety of easily 
digested materials. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES cxxxvii 

62. Give three well-balanced rations, or mixtures, for 

1000-pound steers. 

(1) 5 pounds clover hay, 16 pounds corn silage, 13 
pounds corn meal, 3 pounds of bran. 

(2) 8 pounds alfalfa hay, 12 pounds corn meal, 5 
pounds ground oats. 

(3) 8 pounds mixed hay, 12.5 pounds corn meal, 3 
pounds wheat bran, 2 pounds oil meal or gluten food. 

63. About how much feed is needed daily for fattening 

sheep per 1000 pounds live weight ? 
Sheep need relatively more than cattle — about 21 
pounds per 1000 pounds live weight. 

64. Give a mixture for feeding sheep. 

Eight pounds oats, 8 pounds corn, 2 pounds bran, 
1 pound oil meal. 

65. Which is more profitable to the farmer, to place his 

pigs on the market weighing from 300 to 400 pounds 
or weighing from 100 to 150 pounds? 
The earlier selling at a weight of about 150 pounds 
pays better. It requires more hogs to be raised to pro- 
duce the same income. 

66. What makes a good mixture or combined feed for 

growing swine ? 

Cereal grain, supplemented by skim milk and but- 
termilk. 

67. What is the most economical mixture? 

One pound of corn meal to one-third pound of skim 
milk ; but if there is abundance of milk it can be made 



exxxviii ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

to replace corn. Then the best result will probably 
be 1 pound of grain to 2 pounds of skim milk. 

68. What protein feeds are adapted to pigs? 

Gluten meal, gluten feed, buckwheat middlings, peas 
and middlings. 

69. "What carbohydrates are suitable? 

Oats, barley, wheat, rice products, and especially 
corn are useful. 

70. Is it profitable to feed forage crops to pigs? 

When fed with grain good results are obtained. 
Grain is needed to balance the ration. 

71. What forage crops are adapted to pigs? 

Clover, alfalfa, rape, sorghum, rye, and ordinary 
pasturage are all found to be adaptable to hogs. 

72. What is a good mixture for colts? 

Corn, two parts ; oats, four parts ; bran, three parts ; 
oil meal, one part. 

73. Should colts be given roughage? 

Yes, a reasonable amount of coarse feed to develop 
the alimentary canal, or digestive organs. 

74. Is it possible to increase the fat or cream of milk by 

feeding richly of fats to cows? 

No, it has been tried often, but with failure. 

75. What is a good daily ration for a resting 1000-pound 

horse ? 

(1) 16.5 pounds of medium mixed hay; or (2) 10 
pounds timothy hay and 5 pounds oats; or (3) 10 
pounds timothy hay and 4 pounds of cracked corn. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS exxxix 

76. How much milk may a high-grade cow give annually ? 

Record cows have given 26,000 pounds of milk in a 
year. This high record, however, can not be expected 
from a herd of even the best breed. 

77. How many pounds of digestible organic food should 

a good cow have daily? 

A good cow of average size should have about six- 
teen pounds daily. 

78. How does the ration for milch cows differ from that 

of steer maintenance? 

The cow needs much more protein; about two and 
one-fourth pounds of protein daily. 

79. Give two examples of well-balanced ■ rations for good 

cows. 

(1) 10 pounds clover hay, 35 pounds corn silage, 2 
pounds hominy chops, 4.5 pounds wheat bran, 2.5 
pounds linseed meal. 

(2) 10 pounds mixed hay, 40 pounds corn silage, 4 
pounds wheat middlings, 3 pounds malt sprouts, 1 
pound gluten meal. 

80. What is the best stable temperature in winter ? 

Temperature should be above 45 degrees Fahr., and 
it may well be below 60 degrees. 

81. What other stable precautions are necessary? 

The stable should be well ventilated without having 
cold-air currents blowing on the animals. 

82. Is it wise to keep cows tied in one spot for months at 

a time because exercise costs food? 



gxl ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 

All animals need exercise for health and vigor, even 
though it does cost a little extra feed. 
83. Does kindness to animals have a money value? 

Close observers declare that it does, especially with 
dairy cows. 

COUNTRY ROADS 

1. What is the value of good roads? 

They have a social value, encouraging travel and 
sociability; and an educational value, encouraging at- 
tendance at schools at a distance, also at churches and 
at lectures. 

2. What is the economic value of good roads? 

They reduce the cost of marketing farm products. 

3. In what sense do poor roads cost more than good ones ? 

Poor roads either add to the cost of the product for 
the consumer or reduce the profits of the farmer. 

4. Why should city people be taxed to make good roads ? 

Because the better the roads the more produce will 
be hauled in from the farm, making it cheaper in 
price. 

5. What is the usual width of roads ? 

In the Central West they are two rods, or thirty- 
three feet, in width. 

6. Why is this width necessary? 

To enable teams to turn, as well as to allow space 
for ditches, cuts, and fills. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS cxli 

7. Which is the better way for fanners to pay road tax, 

by working it out or paying it in cash ? 
The cash system is better. 

8. Give reasons. 

Cash enables competent road men to be employed 
to make all repairs, and these can be made whenever 
needed instead of only in the summer, as is the case 
t^'hen farmers work out a road tax. 

9. What is a macadam road? 

It is a hard stone-made road, named for a Scotch 
engineer by that name. 

10. How is a macadam road made? 

The roadbed is first given the proper slope, then 
covered with a layer of coarse crushed rock, which is 
rolled with a heavy roller. Then another layer of 
finer crushed rock is placed on top and rolled well into 
the coarser underlayer. The last layer is of still finer 
material, covered with sand, both sand and material 
being separately rolled to a smooth hard surface. 

11. What does a macadam road cost per mile? 

It varies from $3000 to $6000 per mile, according to 
the distance necessary to draw or transport the stone. 

12. What is another problem of roadmaking besides the 

surface ? 

Proper drainage. A small rill or stream wall soon 
do serious harm to any good road surface, therefore 
the road should have a good slope and the ditches must 
be clear. 



(.xlii ELEMENT AEY AGRICULTURE 

13. What is the most necessary tool for keeping dirt roads 

in order? 

A split-log drag. 

14. How is it made? 

With two halves of a log fastened some feet apart 
by cross pieces, so the sharp edges of the log will 
smooth off the road as it is dragged along, the dirt 
from the high places being drawn into the depressions. 

15. When is the best time to drag a road? 

After a rain by driving up one side of the road and 
back on the other, covering one rut in each case. Rid- 
ing on the outer, or ditch-end of the drag, forces the 
loose dirt to the center of the road, thus giving it the 
slope needed. 

16. What good results from such dragging? 

Ruts are filled up and less chance is offered for 
standing water or puddles ; the ridges are smoothed 
off and the surplus loose dirt is pushed to the middle 
of the road, making a better slope. 

17. What is the average cost of overland transportation of 

farm products? 

According to investigations, hauling costs 1.4 per 
cent of the value of cotton, 2.7 per cent of wood, 7.2 
per cent of wheat, 7.7 per cent of oats and 9.6 per cent 
of the value of corn. 

18. What was found to be the average cost per ton mile? 

Reports including all kinds of roads from all parts 
of the country give an average of 25 cents per ton mile. 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWEES cxliii 

19. What is the difference in cost of hauling over good 

roads and bad ones? 

The cost per ton mile over good stone roads is 8 
cents, over earth roads, containing ruts and mud, 39 
cents; over dry, sandy roads, 64 cents. 

20. How does the road surface affect the draft of a horse? 

A load that 3 horses are just able to draw on a level 
asphalt road would require 7 horses on a smooth block 
pavement, 14 horses on cobblestone, 40 horses on an 
ordinary earth road, and 80 horses on a dry, sandy 
road. 

21. What is a 1 per cent grade? 

One that rises 1 foot for every 100 feet of distance. 

22. How does steepness of grade affect the draft of a 

horse ? 

When a horse can pull 1000 pounds on a level road 
he can draw only 900 pounds on a 1 per cent grade, 
800 pounds up a 2 per cent grade, 400 pounds up a 
5 per cent grade and 250 pounds up a 10 per cent 
grade. 

23. What is the difference in narrow and broad tires on 

the draft? 

There is no difference on hard roads, but narrow 
tires cut in dirt roads and thus reduce the draft. 

24. How does the width of the tire affect the road? 

Narrow tires injure roads, but wide tires roll and 
harden the roads like a roller. 



Cxliv ELEMENTARY AGEICULTURE ' 

PKESERVING FOODS 

1. What causes the loss of canned goods? 

The presence of any one of three living organisms 
will cause decay of animal or vegetable matter — they 
are yeast, molds, and bacteria. 

2. What conditions are conducive to the growth of yeast 

plants ? 

They need warmth, air, moisture, and sugar. 

3. How does the yeast plant grow? 

By budding, which means that the parent plant 
divides into two plants and these grow and divide, and 
the process continues as long as conditions are favor- 
able. 

4. Where will yeast easily grow? 

It will grow in fruit juice and fruit slightly sweet- 
ened, but not in thick sirups or preserves. It is easily 
killed by a high or a low temperature. 

5. How does mold get a start? 

The spores or seeds of mold are very light and may 
be floating in the air. When they lodge on a warm, 
moist surface, such as food often presents, they germi- 
nate and cover the surface. 

6. How may molds be destroyed ? 

By exposure to a high temperature for about twenty 
minutes. 

7. Where do bacteria grow most readily? 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Cxlv 

They multiply rapidly in meat, milk, and legumes, 
but will not grow in acids or thick sirups. 

8. Which of these organisms injure canned and pre- 

served fruits? 

Such foods are more liable to be injured by yeast 
and molds than by bacteria. 

9. What makes fruit juices form jelly ? 

Pectin, a carbohydrate resembling starch, is an im- 
portant factor in the juice of ripe, or nearly ripe fruit. 
When equal amounts of sugar and fruit juice are 
mixed and heated, the pectin causes the mixture to 
gelatinize, thus forming jelly. 

10. What are the chief essentials in canning and pre- 

serving ? 

Cleanliness and sterilization. 

11. How is sterilization effected? 

Kettles, jars, strainers, covers, rubbers, and all uten- 
sils to be used should be scalded or otherwise sterilized. 

12. What general rules may be given for canning foods? 

Kill all germs in the food and inside the cans and 
seal while hot, so as not to permit other germs from the 
air to enter. 

13. Why does drying fruits and meats preserve them? 

Germs or bacteria cannot grow without the pres- 
ence of water. 

14. Upon what principle is canning based? 

It is based on the fact that exclusion of bacteria from 
organized matter will prevent decomposition or decay. 



Cxlvi ELEMENTABY AGRICULTURE 

15. How may one know if living germs are in the canned 

foods? 

It is known by the escape of gas, which indicates 
that decomposition, or fermentation, has set in. Such 
foods quickly spoil unless used or recanned. 

16. Why does salting meat preserve it? 

Because bacteria cannot live in a strong solution 
of common salt. 

17. Does putting fruit and meat in cold storage kill the 

bacteria ? 

No, a low temperature simply keeps them from 
growing and multiplying. As soon as the temperature 
rises they begin to act and the food soon spoils. 

18. How does smoking meat preserve it? 

Smoking meat coats the outside with a thin layer of 
creosote, which not only kills all germs present, but 
gives the meat a different flavor. 

19. Is any particular wood necessary to the successful 

smoking of meats? 

No, the smoke of almost any wood will preserve meat, 
but some kinds give better flavor than others. 

20. What effect has sugar upon keeping qualities? 

Sugar is a preservative against the action of germs. 
It is used somewhat in curing meats and extensively 
in preserving fruits. 

21. How is the process of preserving fruits explained? 

Preserved fruits are cooked for a long time and this 
"boiling down" process kills all germs and drives off 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS cxlvii 

the water, thus making conditions unfit for others to 
grow, 

22. What makes milk sour ? 

Germs or bacteria. 

23. Where do they come from? 

The air is full of germs, the barn dust is laden with 
them, and there are some in the milk pail and on the 
Iiands of the milker. 

24. How should milk cans and pails be treated? 

All milk vessels should be thoroughly washed, 
scalded, and, if possible, placed in the sunlight, which 
is an enemy of germs, or, in other words, a disinfectant. 

25. What causes butter to become rancid? 

Bacteria. 

26. How can this best be prevented? 

By working out all the water which bacteria need 
and by mixing salt well into butter. 

27. What is it that makes cider turn to vinegar? 

Bacteria. The solid, slimy mass, known as "mother 
of vinegar," is merely a vast colony of bacteria. 

28. What kind of cider makes the best vinegar ? 

Sweet cider, because it contains more sugar. 

29. Where do the vinegar-making bacteria come from? 

From the air and from the barrel. The process may 
be hastened by introducing mother of vinegar. 



USEFUL INFORMATION 

EVERY GIEL SHOULD KNOW HOW TO REMOVE STAINS 

Tar or Wagon Grease. Cold soapsuds will remove most 
stains if used before the garment is dipped in hot water. 
For pitch stains, grease with lard before using soap and 
water. Turpentine will remove all such stains. 

Grass. Remove grass stains when fresh if possible. Al- 
cohol, naphtha soap and water, or ammonia and water will 
remove grass stains. 

Ink. Wet the spot with warm water, apply sapolio, 
and rub gently between the hands, or wash in a solution 
of hydrochloric acid and rinse in ammonia water. 

Mildew. Mix equal parts of soft soap and starch, half 
as much common salt and the juice of half a lemon, spread 
over the spots and lay the article on the grass for twenty- 
four hours or until the stain disappears. 

Blood Stains. Fresh stains may be rubbed out after 
soaking in cold or tepid water. If very dry, use javelle 
water or peroxide of hydrogen. Kerosene in water will 
remove obstinate stains. Articles that cannot conve- 
niently be washed, may be cleaned by making a paste of 
bulk starch and cold water, spreading on thickly and 
drying in the sunlight. When dry brush off and repeat 
process. 

Iron Rust. Apply salt and lemon juice to the dampened 
spots and place in the sun or near the fire. Rinse thor- 
oughly. 

Fruit Stains. Pour boiling water over the surface, hav- 
ing it fall from a distance of three feet, or wring article 
out of cold water and hang out of doors on a frosty night. 

cxlviii 



USEFUL INFOEMATION cxlix 

If obstinate, diluted muriatic acid, javelle water, or sul- 
phur fumes are good. 

Meat Juice. Hot water will set the stain. Soak in 
cold water, wash in suds of cold water, and rinse in cold 
water. 

Paint Spots. Equal parts of ammonia and turpentine 
will remove paint stains of long standing. 

Tea, Coffee, or Cocoa. Wash in cold water, cover 
with glycerine, and let stand two or three hours ; wash 
with cold water and hard soap. If stains are fresh, pour 
boiling water through from a height after soaking. 

Perspiration. Soak in cold water, wash with borax, 
and expose garment to sunshine. Stains under the arms 
require an acid, such as a weak solution of muriatic acid. 

Burned Cooking Utensils. To clean granite ware where 
mixtures have been burned on. Half fill with cold water, 
adding any good soap or washing powder; heat water 
gradually to the boiling point. 

INSECTICIDES AND FUNGICIDES 

For Biting Insects — Poisons. 
1. Arsenate of Lead. 

Arsenate of lead 2 to 3 pounds 

Water, or Bordeaux, or lime-sulphur 50 gallons 

Arsenate of lead is found on the market both as a pow- 
der and as a putty-like paste. The paste must be worked 
free in water before it is added to the lime-sulphur mix- 
ture or to the Bordeaux mixture. The paste form of the 
poison is used at the rate of two or three pounds to each 
fifty gallons of the liquid and is added to it after it has 
been well dissolved in water. 



Cl ELEMENTAEY AGKICULTUEE 

2. Wet Paris Green. 

Paris green 14 pound 

Lime 1/2 pound 

Water 50 gallons 

If the above amount of Paris green is to be used with 
fifty gallons of Bordeaux mixture the half-pound of lime 
should be omitted. 

3. Dry Paris Green. 

Paris green 1 pound 

Powdered lime 20 pounds 

For Sucking Insects. 

4. Kerosene Emulsion. 

Strong hard soap, shaved fine i/^ pound 

Water 1 gallon 

Kerosene or crude petroleum 2 gallons 

The soap should be dissolved in the water by boiling, 
remove from the fire while still boiling hot and at a safe 
distance from the fire add the oil, stirring violently until 
it is thick like cream. If it is well made it will keep 
indefinitely and may be diluted when needed for use. 
During the growing time of summer, for plant lice and 
other soft-bodied insects, dilute the emulsion with fifteen 
parts of water ; for the red spider and other plant mites, 
the same, with the addition of one ounce of flowers of 
sulphur to the gallon ; for scale insects, the large plant 
bugs, and larvfe, dilute with from seven to ten parts of 
water. Apply with a spray pump. 



USEFUL INFOEMATION cl| 

5. Bordeaux Mixture — Used as a Fungicide to Prevent 
Diseases. 

Copper sulphate (bluestone) 6 pounds 

Unslaked lime 4 pounds 

Water 50 gallons 

Dissolve the copper sulphate at the rate of one pound 
of copper to a gallon of water. Slake the lime until it 
is thick like cream. This is a stock solution and may be 
kept covered until needed. 

6. Lime-sulphur — to Kill San Jose Scale and Prevent 
Disease. 

Powdered flowers of sulphur 15 pounds 

Burned lime 15 to 20 pounds 

Water 50 gallons 

Add the wet sulphur and the slaked lime to ten gallons 
of boiling water. Boil for an hour or until well dissolved. 
Add water to make fifty gallons. 



FERTILIZERS FOR DIFFERENT CROPS 

These formulas must vary according to the soils 
Field Corn. 

Ground bone 250 pounds 

Acid phosphate 500 pounds 

Muriate of potash 250 pounds 

Apply 200 to 300 pounds to each acre on manured soils ; 
300 to 500 pounds on medium soils without manure. In- 
crease nitrogen for forage corn or ensilage. 



elii ELEMENTARY AGRICULTUEE 

Oats. 

Nitrate of soda 150 pounds 

Tankage 200 pounds 

Acid phosphate 600 pounds 

Muriate of potash 50 pounds 

Apply on good soils, 200 to 300 pounds to an acre ; 300 
to 500 pounds per acre on medium soils with manure. 

Wheat. 

Dried blood 150 pounds 

Tankage 100 pounds 

Acid phosphate 700 pounds 

Muriate of potash 50 pounds 

Apply same as oats. 

Early Potatoes. 

Nitrate of soda 100 pounds 

Sulphate of ammonia 100 pounds 

Tankage 100 pounds 

Acid phosphate 500 pounds 

Sulphate or muriate of potash 200 pounds 

Apply from 500 to 1,200 pounds per acre. 

Sweet Potatoes. 

Tankage 300 pounds 

Dried blood 100 pounds 

Acid phosphate 400 pounds 

Muriate of potash 200 pounds 

Apply from 500 to 800 pounds per acre. 

Early Tomatoes and Market Garden Crops. 

Nitrate of soda 250 pounds 

Ground bone 100 pounds 

Acid phosphate 550 pounds 

Muriate of potash 100 pounds 

Apply 800 pounds per acre 



USEFUL INFORMATION cliii 

Timothy Hay, Top Dressing. 

Nitrate of soda 500 pounds 

Ground bone 200 pounds 

Acid phosphate 200 pounds 

Muriate of potash 100 pounds 

Apply 200 to 300 pounds per acre. 



THE FARMER'S ARITHMETIC 

One acre of land measures 160 square rods, or 4,840 
square yards, or 43,560 square feet. 

If the length of a field is known in rods, the width 
necessary to make one acre is found when the given 
length is divided into 160. 

A ton of hay on a wagon rack measures about 500 
cubic feet. 

A ton of newly stored hay measures about 422 cubic 
feet. 

After hay has settled several months it measures 270 
cubic feet to the ton. 

231 cubic inches make one liquid gallon. 

2,150.4 cubic inches make one bushel. 

This standard bushel is a cylinder 8 inches deep and 
18.5 inches in diameter. 

1.25 cubic feet are allowed for one bushel of shelled 
corn or grain. 

2.25 cubic feet are allowed for one bushel of corn on 
the cob. 

A crate 10x11x20 inches inside measurement is used 
for a bushel of onions, potatoes, or other vegetables. 



cliv 



ELEMENTAKY AGRICULTURE 



Quantity of Seed per Acre and Legal Weights per 

Bushel 



Alfalfa 


30 lbs. 


60 lbs. 


Barley 


8 to 10 pks. 


48 lbs.* 


Blue Grass 


20 to 25 lbs. 


14 lbs. 


Buckwheat 


3 to 5 pks. 


48 lbs.* 


Clover 


10 to 15 lbs. 


60 lbs.* 


Corn, shelled, check row 


6 to 8 qts. 


60 lbs. 


Corn, ensilage 


10 qts. 




Cotton, upland 


4 to 8 pks. 


32 lbs.* 


Cowpea 


4 to 7 pks. 


60 lbs. 


Oats 


2 to 3 bu. 


32 lbs. 


Potato 


6 to 18 bu. 


60 lbs.* 


Rye 


3 to 8 pks. 


56 lbs.* 


Timothy 


10 to 20 lbs. 


45 lbs.* 


Wheat 


6 to 9 pks. 


60 lbs. 



Distances Apart for Planting Fruit and Vegetables 



Feet 

Apples 30-40 

Apricots 15-20 

Cherries 15-25 

Oranges 25-30 

Peaches 15-20 

Pears 20-30 

Plums 15-20 

Quinces 10-12 

Blackberries 4.5-7 

Currants 4-4.5 

Gooseberries 4-4.5 

Raspberries 3.5-5 

Strawberries 1-4 

Asparagus 3-4 

Beans, bush and pole. . 2-4 
Beet 1.5-2 

*Varies in a few states. 



Feet 

Cabbage 2-3 

Carrot 1.5-2 

Corn, sweet 3-3.5 

Celery 3-4 

Lettuce 1-2 

Onion 1.5-2 

Parsley 1-2 

Peas 1-3 

Potato 2.5-3 

Radish 1-15 

Rhubarb 4 

Salsify 1.5-2 

Squash and pumpkin . . 6-8 

Turnip 1.5-2 

Tomato 3-4 



USEFUL INFOEMATION elv 



AGRICULTURAL BULLETINS 

Each school may secure a good library of agricultural 
bulletins at small expense. Write to the Secretary of 
Agriculture, Washington, D. C, asking that your school 
be placed on the mailing list to receive the monthly list 
of bulletins. Ask also to have sent one copy of each of 
the following: 



Circular No. 4, Division of Publications. 
Farmers' Bulletin Subject Index. 
List of Publications for free distribution. 
List of Publications for sale. 



Those pamphlets on the list for free distribution will 
be sent to any one for the asking. Those listed for sale 
may be purchased at slight cost, or perhaps some of them 
may be secured through your Congressman. Write to 
your State Experiment Station (See p. XXV) for the list 
of state bulletins for free distribution and ask to have 
your name placed on their mailing list. A few of the 
many farmers' bulletins to be obtained from the Secre- 
tary of Agriculture are given below: 

Horse, Nos. 170, 222; Cattle, 106, 71, 233; Milk and 
Butter, 55, 42, 63, 251 ; Swine, 100, 133, 205, 272 ; Poultry, 
51, 186; Turkeys, Ducks, and Geese, 64, 200; Insects, 127; 
Bees, 59, 397; Birds, 54; Soils, 44, 187, 192, 245; How 
Plants Grow, 157; Corn, 199, 229, 253, 313, 409; Potato, 
35; Hay, 89, 339; Orchards, 87, n3. 283; Gardens, 154, 
218, 255; Sanitation, 155. 



elvi ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 



LOCATION OF STATE EXPERIMENT STATIONS 

Any letter addressed to the "Experiment Station" with 
proper post-office address will reach the institution. 

Alabama — Auburn or Uniontown or Tuskegee. 

Arizona — Tucson. 

Arkansas — Fayetteville. 

California — Berkeley. 

Colorado — Fort Collins. 

Connecticut — New Haven or Storrs. 

Delaware — Newark. 

Florida — Gainesville. 

Georgia— Experiment. 

Hawaii — Honolulu. 

Idaho — Moscow. 

Illinois — Urbana. 

Indiana— Lafayette. 

Iowa — Ames. 

Kansas — Manhattan. 

Kentucky — Lexington. 

Louisiana — Baton Rouge. 

Maine — Orona. 

Maryland — College Park. 

Massachusetts — Amherst. 

Michigan — East Lansing. 

Minnesota — St. Paul. 

Mississippi — Agricultural College. 

Missouri — Columbia or Mountain Grove. 

Montana — Bozeman, 

Nebraska — Lincoln. 

Nevada — Reno. 



USEFUL INFOEMATION clvii 

New Ilampsliire — Durham. 

New Mexico — Agricultural College. 

New York — Geneva or Ithaca. 

North Carolina — Raleigh. 

North Dakota — Agricultural College. 

Ohio — Wooster. 

Oklahoma — Stillwater. 

Oregon — Corvallis. 

Eennsylvania — State College. 

Rhode Island — Kingston. 

South Carolina — Clernson College. 

South Dakota — Brookings. 

Tennessee — Knoxville. 

Texas — College Station. 

Utah — Logan. 

Vermont — Burlington. 

Virginia — Blacksburg. 

Washington — Pullman. 

West Virginia — INIorgantown. 

Wisconsin — Madison. 

Wyoming — Laramie. 

The United States Department of Agriculture is located 
at Washington, D. C. Address the Secretary of Agri- 
culture. 



REFERENCE BOOKS FOR TEACHERS 

First Principles of Soil Fertility. A. Vivian ($1.00), 
Orange, Judd Co. 

Bacteria in Relation to Country Life. J. G. Lipman 
($1.50), Macmillan. 



Clviii ELEMENTAEY AGRICULTURE 

Cereals in America. T. F. Hunt ($1.75), Orange, Judd 
Company. 

Forage and Fiber Crops in America. T. F. Hunt 
($1.75), Orange, Judd Co. 

Manual of Gardening. L. H. Bailey ($2.00), Macmillan. 

The Principles of Fruit-growing. L. H. Bailey ($1.50), 
Macmillan. 

The American Apple Orchard. F. A. Waugh ($1.00), 
Orange, Judd Co. 

The Potato. S. Frazer ($1.75), Orange, Judd Co. 

Feeds and Feeding. W. A. Henry ($2.00), W. A. Henry, 
Madison, Wis. 

Types and Breeds of Farm Animals. S. C. Plumb 
($2.00), Ginn and Co. 



BOYS' AND GIELS' AGEICULTUBAL CLUBS 

Canning Tomatoes at Home and in Club Work. 
Farmers' Bulletin No. 521 (U. S. Dept. of Agriculture). 

Special Contests for Corn-Club Work. Bureau of 
Plant Industry, Circular No. 104 (U. S. Dept. of Agricul- 
ture). 

Organization and Instruction in Boys' Corn-Club Work. 
Bureau of Plant Industry, Circular No. 803. 

Note. — For Agricultural Club Organization Blank Forms, address 

U. S. Department of Agriculture 

Bureau of Plant Industry 

Office of Farm Management — Club Work 

Washington, D. C. 



INDEX 



All figures refer to pages; heavier type is used for the 
more important references 



Aberdeen Angus, cix, ex, cxi 
Agricultural Bulletins, see Farm- 
ers' Bulletins 
Agricultural Clubs, see Clubs, 

Boys' and Girls' 
Agricultural Colleges, see Colleges 

of Agriculture 
Alcohol, 125, 144, 146, xix 
Alfalfa, cii-cix; for pasture, 40, 

47; for honey, 69; a rotating crop 

for fertilizing, 91, 94, 95, 148, 156 

160, xxii, xxiv, Ixxii; soil and 
crops. 161, xiv, civ, cv, evil; root, 

161, 163, xcvi, cii, ciii; plant 
showing long tap root (Fig. 88), 
163; how to start, 161, 162, xciii, 
xciv, civ-cvi; conditions, hinder- 
ing growth, ciii; preceding crops, 
civ, cv; fertilizer for, 161, civ, 
cv: rotation for, cv; nurse crop, 
cv, cvi; climate, 161, ciii; seed 
161, 162, cil, ciii, cv, cvi; impuri- 
ties, ciii; cutting, 161, cv, cvii; 
disease, cvi; injurious insects, 
cvii; effect of rain, cviii; a field 
(Fig. 87), 162; feed for stock, 
20, 47, 161-163, cxxxvili, cviii- 
cix; and corn as feed, 163; when 
made into silage, cviii; compared 
with clover, xcviii, ci, cviii; va- 
rieties, ciii; Grimm, ciii; quan- 
tity of seed per acre and legal 
weight per bushel, cliv 

Ammonite, xli 

Anchor bend, 13 

Andalusian, cxxvi 

Annuals, xiii 

Ants, 82 ^„^ , .. 

Apples, soil for. 85. 165, Ixvu; 
location of orchards, 164; plant- 
ing trees, 165, Ixviii, cliv; spray- 
ing 169, 170; from trees not 
sprayed (Fig. 38), 62; from trees 
sprayed (Fig. 39), 63; thinning 
crop, 171; grading and packmg, 
172; growing and use of, 172, 173; 
seedless, 173; seed, xv; cross- 
pollination, xii; leading fruit 
crop, xiv, Ixvii; easier grown 
than' the peach, Ixxi 

Apricots, planting trees, cliv 

clix 



Arithmetic, the farmer's, cliii 
Army worms, 78 
Arsenate of lead, lix-lxi, cxlix 
Ash trees, seeds of, 101 
Asparagus, 194, xiv, cliv 
Ayrshire cattle, 24, cxii, cxiv 
Azotin, xli 



Babcock milk test, 24, 27, 228 

Bacteria, in soil, 85, 90, 91, xxii, 
xxiii, xxvi, xxvii, xxxi, xciv; and 
clover, 91; work of. 91, 92, 156, 
160; in food, 213, 214, 215, cxliv, 
cxIv, cxlvii; in milk and butter. 
215, cxlvii; in cider, 215, cxlvii; 
in sewage, 218 

Balance in nature, x 

Balanced ration, see Stock, feed- 
ing of 

Banana, xiv 

Bantams, 50 

Barley, 10, 39, 92. 181. xiii, xiv, 
cv, cvi, cxxxviii, cliv; bread, 
126; wild, Ixii, Ixili, Ixiv 

Barns, horse, 11; cattle. 19, 221; 
ventilation, 221; a sanitary dairy 
barn (Fig. 107), 220 

Beans, 10. 191, xiii, xiv; string, 
191, 192; butter, 192; lima, 192; 
bush and pole, cliv 

Becket hitch, 12 

Bedding, importance of, xxxv, 
xxxvi 

Beef cattle, 18; a beef breed 
(Fig. 9), 17; uses made of, 28 

Bees, 61, 62. 64, 68-76; first sugar 
makers, 68; finding the bee tree, 
68, honey train, 68; where honey 
comes from, 69; a profitable api- 
ary (Fig. 44), 69; pollen and 
wax. 69, 70; members of the bee 
family, 70 — the worker, the 
queen and the drone (Fig. 45), 
70; work of the queen, 71; why 
bees swarm, 71, 72; stand of bees 
near swarming time (Fig. 46), 
71; getting a new queen, 72; 
dividing the work, 72; drones, 
73; Italian bees. 73: helping the 
bee, 73; honey extractor. 73, 75; 
it's all in knowing how (Fig. 47), 



clx 



ELEMENTARY AGETCULTUEE 



74; keeping bees warm, 75; do 
not starve bees, 75; another 
service, 75, lii; busy as a bee, 76 

Beetles, 61, 64, C7; cucumber. 79, 
197; flea, 142, Ixxxi; flower, 81; 
potato, 79 (Fig. 77), 141, 142, 
Ixxxi; tiger, lii 

Beets, 85, 189, 190, 1.92, xiv, cliv; 
see also Sugar beets 

Belgian, bay, 5. cxv, cxvl 

Berkshires (Fig. 29), 48, cxxiii 

Biennials, xiii, xiv 

Binder, see Self-binder 

Bindweed, SI 

Bird houses (Fig. 52), 81, 82 

Birds, 77-83; "Birds of Killing- 
worth." 77, 78; service to farm- 
ers. 78; other friends of the 
farmer, 78, 79; Grosbeaks are 
friends, 79; tarring the seeds, 
80; protecting grain fields. 80; 
the Grosbeak and the orchard, 
80, 81 ; policemen of the air, 81 ; 
eating weed seeds. 81; big appe- 
tites, 81, 82; making friends of 
the birds (Fig. 52), 81, 82; shar- 
ing with the birds. 82; digestive 
tracts of, cxxix; see also names 
of birds 

Bits, frosty, 10 

Blackberries, 198, 199, xiv, cliv 

Black rot, 198 

Blackwall hitch, 13 

"Black weevil," see Weevil 

Blight, the, 143. Ixxxii 

Bluebirds, 78. 82 

Blue grass, cliv 

Blue jays, 83 

Bobolink (Fig. 49), 78. 81 

Bobwhite (Fig. 51), 80. 82 

Boll Weevil, .'*ee Weevil 

Bone meal, 95. xliii 

Books, reference, for teachers, 
clvii, clviii 

Bordeaux mixture, 142, 169, 170, 
192. 198, lix, Ixxxi. Ix.vxil; color, 
Ix; formula, lix, cli; peach, lix 

Bowline, 12 

Brahmas (Fig. 30), 50, cxxvi 

Bread, making, 213; white, 126, 
131, 137 

Bridle, the, 14 

"Broilers," 49, 56, 57 

Bronze turkeys (Fig. 35), 5S 

Brown Swiss, 24; cxi, cxii; twin 
calves (Fig. 15), 25 

Brownie bugs, Iv 

Buckwheat, 69, 181, cliv 

Bumblebees, 75, lii 

Burdocks, 101. xv. Ixv 

Butter, bacteria in, 215; churning 
the first. 16, 17; see also Milk 
and butter 

Butterflies, 61, 62, 64, 65, xlix 

Buttermilk, 32 



Cabbage, 85, 190, 191, 195, 196, xiv; 
a well cultivated cabbage lot 
(Fig. 99), 195; distances apart for 
planting, cliv; maggot, 196; 
worm, 196, Iv 

Calves, 19-21; getting ready for 
market, 19, 20; feeding meal, 20; 
an empty dinner pail (Fig. 11), 
20; mixed food. 20; weaning, 20; 
"Where are our mothers?" (Fig. 
12), 21; sa\-ing cream, 21; Brown 
Swiss twin calves (Fig. 15), 25 

Canada thistle, Ixv, Ixvi 

Cankerworm, 78, 79, 81, 169, Iviii 

Carbohydrates, in feeds, cxxxi, 
cxxxii. cxxxvi, cxxxviii 

Carbon, xxi 

Carbonic-acid gas, ix, xxi, xxxi 

Cardinal, 79. SO 

Carrick bend, 13 

Carrots, 10, 189, 193, cllv 

Caterpillar, 65, 78, 79, 81, xlix, li, 
liii; apple-tree tent, Iviii 

Cattle, 16-28, cix-cxiv; more useful 
than horses. 16; origin. 16; tam- 
ing wild cattle, 16; churning, 16, 
17; hitching to loads, 17, 18; 
care and feed, 18, 19; beef cat- 
tle, 18, cix-cxi; general pur- 
pose, cxi-cxii; dairy cows, 21- 
27, cxii-cxiv; Babcock milk 
test, 24, 27; uses made of beef 
cattle, 28; how to get good 
stock, 28; stomachs of rumi- 
nants, cxxx; cattle and sheep, 
37; see also Calves, Dairy cows, 
and names of breeds 

Cauliflower, 1S7 

Celery, 1S7, xiv, cliv 

Cellars, 216, 217 

Centipedes, xlviii 

Cheese making, 32, 33 

Cherries, 165. Ixviii. cliv 

Cheshire, 46 (Fig. 27). 47 

Chester-White, 45. cxxiii 

Chickadees, 78. l\iii 

Chickens, see Poultry 

Chili saltpeter, xlii 

Chinch bug, Iv, Ivi 

Chlorophyl, ix. x. xxi 

Churn, the, 31, 32 

Churning, 16, 17, 30 

Cicidas, liv 

Cider, 215, cxlvii 

Clay, soils. 84, 85; crops for, 85; 
why wet. 88, 89, 106; roads, 208 

Clove hitch, 12 

Clover, 156 - 160, xcvll - oil; for 
horses, 9, ci; for calves and 
milch cows, 20, 159, ci, cii; for 
sheep, 39, 40, 159, ci. cii; for hogs, 
47, cxxxviii; for cattle, 159, cii; 
for honev, 69; in New Zealand, 
75; bacteria and, 91, 93-95, 156. 
xxii, xxiii, xciv; for fertilizing,' 



INDEX 



clxi 



93, 94, 158, xxxiii, ci; rotating 
crop, 148, Ixxii, xci, ci; roots, 

156, 157, xcvi, xcvii; climate and 
soil, 157, xcviii; ready to cut, 

157, 158, c; careful handling, 158; 
curing, 158, c; uses of, 158, 159; 
to fight weeds, Ixii; in balanced 
ration, xcv; getting a stand, 159, 
xxiv, xciii, xciv; names, xcvii; 
seed, xcvii-c; color of seed, cii; 
seed per acre and legal weight 
per bushel, cliv; distribution and 
duration of life of crop, xcvii, 
xcviii; grown with timothy, 
xcviii; assistance needed for 
growth, xcviii; causes of failure, 
xciv, c; comparison with alfalfa, 
xcviii, cviii; alsike, 160 

Cleveland Bay, cxv 

Club and School, The, 238 

Clubs, Boys' and Girls', 229-238 

Clydesdale horses, 5, (Fig. 5) 6, 
cxv, cxvi 

Coach horses, 3, 4, (Fig. 2) 3 

Cochins, 50, cxxvi 

Cockerels, 57 

Cocklebur, Ixii 

Cocoanut seed, 101, xv 

Cocoon, 65, xlix 

Codling moth, 81, Ivii 

Colantha 4's Johanna, cxiii 

Cold frames, 188 

Colleges of Agriculture, 228; Col- 
lege of Agriculture, Uni. of Wis. 
(Fig. 110), 227 

Colorado potato beetle, see Potato 
beetle 

Corn, 92, 113-125, xiv, xcv, Ixxl- 
Ixxvlii; for horses, 10; for calves, 
20; for sheep, 39; for hogs, 46, 47, 
cxxxviii; for poultry, 54, cxxviii; 
clay soil not good for, 85; best 
land for, Ixxii; grown with and 
without fertilizer (Fig. 53), 93; 
as rotating crop, 94, 95, civ, cv; 
flowers, 99; pollination of, 99, 100; 
discovery of, 113; saves the pio- 
neers, 113, 114; Indian farming, 
114; Indian method of planting, 
Ixxvi; where grown, 114; corn 
belt, 114, 115, Ixxvi; a corn train, 
115; corn land valuable, 115; 
choosing good seed, 115, Ixxiv; 
prize ear, 115, 116 (Fig. 60), 116; 
good kernels, 116; cobs, 116, 117; 
cob too large or too small (Fig. 
61), 116; space between kernels 
(Fig. 62), 117, Ixxv; judging corn, 
Ixxi, Ixxii; when to select seed, 
117; curing the seed, 118; stor- 
age, Ixxv; corn tree, 118, Ixxv; 
some devices used in drying, 
118, Ixxv; testing seed, 118; test- 
ing twelve ears of seed corn 
(Fig. 63), 119; Improving corn. 



118; planting, 118, 119, 121, Ixxiii, 
Ixxvi; making soil rich, 120; how 
to plow, 120-122; best time to 
plow, Ixxii; how to keep ground 
moist, 121; keeping weeds down, 
122; reasons for cultivating, 
Ixxiii; harvesting, 123, Ixxvi; 
corn cutter (Fig. 67), 123; saving 
it all, 124; a great discovery, 
124; building silos, 124, 125, Ixxvl- 
Ixxviii; filling the silo (Fig. 68), 
124; chief uses, 125, Ixxviii; with 
alfalfa as feed, 163; corn plant, 
proportion of water in, xix, xxi; 
food value, Ixxvi; proportion pro- 
duced in America, Ixxvi; pro- 
portion exported, Ixxviii; fertil- 
izer, ell; seed per acre and legal 
weight per bushel, cliv 

Corn, sweet, .see Sweet corn 

Corn Clubs, Boys', 231-233 

Corn cockle, Ixii 

Corn grader, Ixxii 

Corn meal, 21, xxxv 

Corn stover, 124 

Cotswold, cxx 

Cottage cheese, 32 

Cottolene, Ixxxviii 

Cotton, xiv, 147-155, Ixxxlv-lxxxix; 
rotation for, 94; its home, 147; 
origin and introduction into 
America, Ixxxiv; chief cotton- 
growing countries, l.xxxv; cli- 
mate, 147; best soil, 147; pre- 
paring the soil, 148, Ixxxvi. 
Ixxxvii; deep plowing, 148, 149; 
planting, 149, Ixxxvi, Ixxxvii; 
cultivation, 149, 150, Ixxxvii; 
ready to pick, 150; cotton boll 
and leaf (Fig. 79), 150; cotton 
blossom (Fig. 80), 151; cotton 
field ready for pickers (Fig. 
81), 153; harvesting, 151; yield, 
Ixxxvii; cotton gin, 152; baling 
cotton for market, 152; seed 
selection, Ixxxv. Ixxxvi; use of 
seed, 152, 153; by-products, 
Ixxxviii; oil meal, 153, 180; two 
kinds most raised, 154, Ixxxv; 
diseases, Ixxxviii; insect ene- 
mies, Ixxxviii; boll weevil, 
148, 154 (Fig. 43), 66, Ixxxviii, 
Ixxxix; fighting the weevil, 154, 
155; to hasten the crop, 155; im- 
portance of crop, ixxxv; govern- 
ment demonstration f a r in s , 
Ixxxvii, Ixxxviii; seed per acre 
and legal weights per bushel, 
cliv 

Cowpeas, 20, 163; bacteria and, 
91, 94, 156, xxii, xxiv, xxxiii, 
Ixxxvi; a rotating crop, 94, 95, 
147, 148, 175, Ixxii; for feed, xiv, 
xciii, xcv; seed per acre and 
legal weight per bushel, cliv 



clxii 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



Cow-testing assn's, 27, 28 

Crab grass, 81 

Cradle (Fig. 71), 130; cutting- 
wheat with a (Fig. 72), 131; 
scythe or, 132 

Cream separator, 30, 31; the old 
way (Fig. IS), 31; the new way 
(Fig. 19), 31 

Creepers, 78 

Crickets, liv 

Crops, farm, and soils. 84-200; 
fiber, xiv; forage and fodder, 
xiv; fruit, xiv; grain, xiv; root, 
xiv; vegetable, xiv; rotation of, 
xlv-xlviii; variation in food re- 
quirements, xiv; deep and shal- 
low-rooted crops, xlvi; effect on 
labor, xlvi-xlvii; on plant dis- 
eases, xlvii; on insects, xlvii; 
on weeds, xlvii; on size of crop, 
xlvii; general rules, xlvii-xlvlii 

Crows, 83 

Cucumber beetles, 79, 197 

Cucumbers, 187, 196, 197, xiv, Ivi 

Curculio, Ivii, Ivili; depositing egg 
on young peach (Fig. 40), 64; 
young grub destroying fruit 
(Fig. 41). 64 

Curled dock, Ixvi 

Currants, 200, xiv. cliv; dried, 198 

Cutworms, 145, 200 

Dairy cows, 18, 21-27, cxii-cxiv; 
choosing a good cow, 21 ; Jersey 
type. 22, 23, cxil-cxiii; Guern- 
seys, 23, 24, cxii, cxiii; Holstein, 
24, cxii-cxiv; Babcock test, 24; 
what a good cow produces, 24; 
caring for the dairy cow, 25; 
their food 25, 26, cxxxiv, cxxxv, 
cxxxviii, cxxxlx; testing cows, 
26-28; "A row of money makers" 
(Fig. 16), 26; how to get good 
stock, 28; stable temperature, 
cxxxix; exercise, cxxxix, cxl 

Dandelion seed, 101 

Devon cattle, cxi 

Diphtheria, 220 

Dorset, cxx 

Draft horses, 3; kinds of, 4. 5 

Dragon flies, 61, lii; usefulness, liii 

Drainage, importance of, 89; how 
to drain swampy land. 90; how 
drainage helps, 90; map of tile 
lines. 90; importance in road 
making, 207, 208, cxli 

Dried blood, xl. xli 

Drill, wheat (Fig. 70), 129 

Dry farming, 107 

Ducks, 59; Pekin (Fig. 36), 59 

Duroc-Jersey hogs, 45, cxxiii 

Dutch belted, 24 

Earthworms, 78, xxxi 
Egg plants, 187, 189 



Eggs, hen's, 49-51; duck's, 53; 

geese, 60 
Exmore ponies, cxv 
Experiment Stations, 227; location 

of, civi-clvii 

False reef or granny, 12 

Farm, the, points to consider in 
selecting, xvi-xvii; upon what 
does profit depend, xviii 

Farm animals, 1-83 

Farm machinery, 103-112;. making 
machinery better, 108; copper 
tools, 108-109; first iron tools, 
109, 110; farm machinery of to- 
day, 110, 111; tractor engine 
drawing four plows (Fig. 58), 
110; care of machinery. 111, 112; 
gas engine, a labor saver (Fig. 
59), 111; see also names of farm 
machinery 

Farm sanitation, see Sanitation, 
farm 

Farmers' bulletins, 226, civ 

Farmer's College, 225-228; edu- 
cating the farmer, 225; learning 
the best way, 225, 226; experi- 
ment stations, 227, clvi; colleges 
of agriculture, 228 

Father and Son Clubs, 234 

Fertilizers, xxxiv-xlv; oldest and 
best, 103, 104, xxxiv-xxxix; value 
of feeds as, xxxiv; effect of 
stock and dairy farming, xxxix; 
commercial fertilizers, xl; three 
classes, xl-xlv; "Complete fer- 
tilizer," xl; law with regard to, 
xliv; formulas for different 
crops, cli-cliii 

Fertilizing, 91-95; best and cheap- 
est fertilizer (Fig. 54), 103, 104; 
old way of spreading (Fig. 64), 
120; manure should be spread 
evenly (Fig. 65). 121; corn, 120, 
wheat, 130; cotton, 147. 148, 
Ixxxviii; hay crops, 156-163, civ, 
xci; sugar beets, 176; tobacco, 
180; gardens, 184 

Fish fertilizer, see Guano 

Flax, xiv 

Flicker, 82 

Flies, 64, 65, 67, 79, S3, 216, 219, lii; 
as disease carriers, 219; as 
friends, liii; fighting, 219. 220 

Flowers, work of, 98, xi, xii; parts 
of, 98, xi; imperfect, 99, xi; why 
some are bright and showy, 99, 
xi; why fragrant, 99, xii 

Fly catchers, 78 

Food, preserving, see Preserving 
foods 

Formaldehyde, Ixxxii 

Formaline, solution, 143 

Fruit, canning, 214; preserving, 
215 



INDEX 



clxiii 



Fruit trees, distances apart for 

iilanting, cliv 
Fungicides, insecticides and, cxlix- 

cli 

Galloway, 18; cow (Fig. 10), 19, 

cix, cxi 

Garden, tlie farm. 182-200; the 
bov's garden, 182 — beautiful as 
well as profitable (Fig. 98), 185; 
a school garden (Fig. 97), 183; 
gardens everywhere, 182-183; lo- 
cation and soil, 183; fertilizing, 
184, clii; preparation, 184, 185; 
tools, 185; mulch, 186; planting, 
186, 187; transplanting, 187, 189; 
window box, 187; hot-beds, 188; 
cold frames. 188; rotating crops, 
189, 190; planting between rows, 
190; weeds, 190; mulching, 190; 
see also names of vegetables and 
fruits 

Geese, 59, 60; Christmas bird, 59, 
(Fig. 37), 60 

Girls' Canning Clubs, 236 

Glucose, 146 

Gluten meal, xxxiv 

Gnats, 83 

Gooseberries, 200, cliv 

Grafting, 102 

Grapes, 85, 169, 197, 198, xiv 

Grapevines, 102, 198 

Grasshoppers, 49, 58, 61, 78, 82, liii, 
cvii 

"Greens," 194 

Grosbeaks, 79-81 

Grubworm, 193, xlix 

Guano, xli 

Guernseys, 18, 23, 24, cxii, cxiii 

Hackney Coach, cxv 

"Halter-break," 11 

Hampshire sheep, cxx 

Hansom cab, 7 

Harrow, disk or spring tooth, 121 
(Fig. 66), 122 

Harvesters, combined, 135, 136; 
steam, 136, 137 

Hawks, chicken, 57, 83 

Hay, 9, 85, 156-163; timothy, 156 
(Fig. 82), 157; the clovers, 156- 
160; alfalfa. 160-163; hay loader 
(Fig. 85), 160; stacking hay (Fig. 
86), 161; cowpeas, 163 

Header, the, 133 

Hemp, xiv 

Herefords, IS, cix, ex 

Hessian fly, Ivi 

Hogs, see Swine 

Holsteins, 18, 24, cxii, cxiii, cxiv; 
a record cow (Fig. 14), 23 

Horse, the, 1-15, cxiv-cxix; origin, 
1, cxiv; taming the wild, 1; va- 
riety in size. 1; horse's foot, 1-2; 
riding horseback, 2; first work 



animal, 2; the horse and the 
Indian. 2; draft horses, 3-5, cxv; 
coach and roadsters, 3, 4, cxv, 
cxvi; saddle horses, 7, cxv,cxvi; 
trotters, 7, cxv; ponies, cxiv, 
cxv; how to hitch, 5, 6; driving 
fast, 6, 7; race horses, 7; horses 
as food, 8; proportion of, to peo- 
ple, 8; horse power cheap, 8; 
cxvii, cxviii; cost of keeping, 
cxvii-cxix; cheaper than human 
labor (Fig. 86), 161; feeding, 
8, 9; rations, cxix, cxxxviii; 
stomach compared with rumi- 
nating animals, cxxx, cxxxi, 
cxxxiv; good variety, 9, 10; 
cleaning and care. 10, cxvii; 
healthy shoulders, 10, 11, cxvii; 
stable, 11; shoeing, 11, cxvii; 
breaking colts, 11, 14; his first 
bridle, 14; driving the colt. 14; 
signals, 14, 15; kindness pays, 
15; diversified farming and, 
cxviii; farm tools and, cxviii; see 
also names of breeds 

Horse-radish, 193 

Hotbeds, 187, 188 

"Hothouse" lambs, 40 

Humus, 87, 88, 94, 147, 159; what it 
is, xxxii; sources of, xxxii; effect 
of cropping on, xxxii; its im- 
portance to soils, xxxii, xxxiii; 
how restored to worn-out soils, 
xxxiii 

Ichneumon flies, lii; usefulness, 
liii 

Indian farming, 114 

Inoculation, xxiii. xciv 

Insecticides and fungicides, lix, Ix, 
cxlix-cli 

Insects, 61-67, xlviii-lxi; enemies, 
61, liv-lvili; friends, 61, lil-llii; 
parts of insects, 61, 1; bit- 
ing insects, 61, 62, xlix, liv; 
sucking insects, 62, Ixix, liv; 
contact insecticides, 62; moult- 
ing, 63. 64; stages of develop- 
ment, 64, 65, xlix; larva stage, 
65; pupa stage. 65, 67; freezing 
the insect. 67; insect life short, 
67, 1; identification, xlviii; mi- 
gration, xlix; where found, li; 
how to destroy, 63, 142, 143, 154, 
169, 170, liv-lxi, cxlix-cli; see 
also names of insects 

Irrigation, 107, 108; private irri- 
gation plant (Fig. 56), 108; ir- 
rigating an orchard (Fig. 89), 
166 

Jerseys, IS, 22, 23, 24, cxii, cxiii; 

the dairy type (Fig. 13), 22 
June-berry trees, 80 
June bug (Fig. 42), 65, 200, xlix, Iv 



clxiv 



ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



Kainite, xlii 

Katydids, liv 

Kerosene emulsion, 63, hi; form- 
ula, Ix, cl 

Kingbirds, 78 

Knots that every farmer should 
know (Fig. 8), 12, 13 

Ladybirds, lii 

Langshans, cxxvi 

Leaf-blight, 192, cvi, cvii 

Leather meal, xli 

Leaves, their function, ix 

Leghorns, 50, cxxvi 

Legumes, xciii-xcvi; chief crops, 
xxii, xlviii, xciii; why good for 
soil, xciii, xcv, xcvi; importance 
of green manuring, xxxiii, 
Ixxxvii; why good for feed, xciii- 
xcv; chief element of food in, 
xcv; assist drainage, xcvi 

Lettuce, 187, 190, 196, cliv 

Lime, as fertilizer, xxiii, xxiv, xlv, 
xcviii, civ, cv; how applied, xlv 

Lime-sulphur, Ivii, cli 

Lincoln sheep, cxx 

Linseed meal, 21, xxxiv 

Loam, 85 

Locust, liv 

London purple, lix, Ix 

"Loretta D," cxiii 

Macaroni, 137 

IVIaggot, 65, xlix, liii 

Mangles, xiv 

Manure, as fertilizer, 95. 180, 184, 
xxiii-xxiv, xxxiv-xxxix; the best 
and cheapest fertilizer (Fig. 54), 
103, 104; old and new ways of 
spreading (Figs. 64, 65), 120, 121; 
best methods to prevent loss in, 
xxxvi; storing, xxxvi, xxxvii; 
best way to save, xxxvii; best 
way to apply, xxxvii, xxxviii; to 
assist legumes, xciv, xcviii, civ, 
cv; from legumes, xcv 

Maple seed, 101, xv 

Martins, 82 

May beetle, see June bug 

Meadow lark (Fig. 50), 79. 81 

Meadow mice, 79 

Meal, as calf feed, 20, 21 

Meat meal, xli 

Melons, 196, Ivi; muskmelons, 197 

Merinos, 36-38; merino ram (Fig. 
21), 36, cxx, cxxi 

Milch cows, nee Dairy cows 

Mildew. 169. 191, 198, 200 

Milk and butter, 29, 30; milk as 
food, 29; keeping milk pure and 
clean, 29; milking the cows. 

29, 30; butter-fat. 24, 27, 30; 
ready to churn, 30; churning, 
30; preparing butter for market. 

30, 31; the churn. 31, 32; cheese 
making, 32; by-products. 32, 33; 



souring of milk, 215; milk a germ 
carrier, 220, 221 ; bacteria in. 
cxlvii; distance profitably 
hauled, xvii 

Milk sugar, 32 

Millet, 80; bread, 126 

Minorcas, 50. cxxvi 

Mold, 213, 214, cxiiv, cxlv 

Moles, 79 

Morning glory, Ixvl 

Mosquitoes, 61, 64. 67, 79, 216, 218, 
219, xlix, liii 

"Mother of Vinegar," 215, cxlvii 

Moths, 64, 79, 196. xlix 

Mulberry trees, 80. 82 

Mulch, dust or earth, xxviii; effec- 
tive cultivation for, xxix; effect 
of rain on. xxix 

Mule, cxvl 

Mullein, xiv 

Mushrooms, x 

Mustard, 196, Ixii, Ixiii 

Nighthawks, 79. 82 

Nitrate of Soda, see Chili salt- 
peter 

Nitrogen, 91-93. 95. 148, 156. 180. 
184, xxii-xxv. xxxiii-xxxv. xxxix- 
xliii, Ixxxvii. xciii, xcv, xcvi, 
cviii 

Nuthatches, 78 

Oats, 9. 10, 20, 39, 85. 87, 92. 94, 
98. 132. 181, xiii. xiv. xci, xcv, 
cvi. cxix. cxxxviii; a heavy crop 
(Fig. 96), 180: fertilizer, clii; 
seed per acre and legal weight 
per bushel, cliv; wild, Ixii, Ixiii 

Oil meal, 20, 153 

Oleomargarine, Ixxxviii 

Onions, 187. 197, cliv 

Oranges, xiv. cliv 

Orchards, 164-173, Ixvii-lxxi; help- 
ing one another. 164; keep near 
market or railroad. 164; hill 
lands for orchards, 164; the best 
slope. 164, 165, Ixviii; influence 
of water. 165; kinds of soil for 
fruit. 165; preparation of fruit 
land, 165, Ixviii; planting trees, 
165, Ixviii, Ixix; setting trees. 
166; irrigating (Fig. 89), 166; 
packing about the roots, 167; 
tilling orchards, 167, 168, Ixx; 
crop between rows (Fig. 90), 
167; injury to trees, 168: prun- 
ing, 168, Ixx; spraying. 168, 169; 
Bordeaux mixture, 169; sprayina;, 
machines, 170; spraying outfit 
(Fig. 91), 171; spraying (Fig. 
92), 173; thinning fruit, 170-172; 
harvesting fruit, 172; grading 
and packing. 172. Ixx; peaches. 
172; apples. 172, 173, Ixvii; nurs- 
ery trees. Ixvii; fertilizer, Ixx 



INDEX 



elxv 



Orioles, 82 
Orpingtons, cxxvi 
Osmosis, viii 
Owls, 79 

Oxford sheep, cxx 
Oxygen, use of, in plant life, xxvi, 
xxxi 

Paris green, 142, 169, 170, 196, Iv, 
Ivii, lix, Ix, Ixxxi; formula, Ixi, 
cl 

Parsley, cliv 

Parsnips, 193, xiv 

Peaches, 104-1G6, 169, 170, 172, xii, 
xi\-, Ixviii, Ixxi, cliv 

Peanuts, 147, 148. Ixxxvi 

Pears, 85. 165, 166, 169, 171, xii, xiv, 
Ixviii. cliv 

Peas, 10, 39, 79, 187, 190, 191, xiii, 
xiv. cliv 

Pectin, cxlv 

Peppers, 187 

Percheron, 5; Percheron stallion 
(Fig. 3), 4; prize six-horse team 
(Fig-. 4), 5, cxv, cxvi 

Perennials, xiii, xiv 

Phosphates, mineral, where found, 
xliv 

Phosphoric acid, xxiv, xxxiv, xxxv, 
xxxix, xl, xlii. Ixxxvii, xcvi, 
source, xliii; in clover, ci 

Phosphorus, 93, 95 

Picket rope with a half-granny 
and half-hitch, 12 

Pigeon grass, Ixii 

Pistil, the. 98, 99, xi, xii 

Plants and how they grow. 96- 
102, vii-xv; learning about 
plants, 96; dividing their work, 
96, vii; roots and their work, 
96, 97, vii, viii; the stem, 97, viii; 
leaves. 97, 98, ix; flower. 98, xi, 
xii; seed. 98, xl, xii, xv; father 
and mother, 98; corn flowers, 99, 
carrying the pollen. 99. xi. xii; 
night workers. 99, 100; pollen 
from other plants. 100, xii; kinds 
of plants. 100, xiii, xiv; why dif- 
ferent. 100, 101; interesting 
habit. 101; scattering their seed, 
101, 102, XV ; how man helps, 102, 
XV ; four needs of. xi; importance 
of moisture, xx-xxi; sunlight 
necessary, xxi; relation of car- 
bon to, xxi, xxii; proportion of 
nitrogen required, xxii; plant 
louse, liv. Ivi 

Plow, the first, 18; how to plow, 
120, 121; plowing corn, 122; 
spring and fall plowing, xxix, 

XXX 

Plums, 165, 166, xii, xiv, Ivii, 

Ixviii. cliv 
Plymouth Rocks (Fig. 31), 51, 

cxxvi 



Poisons, internal, lix, Ix; contact, 
lix; fumigation, lix 

Poland China, 45 (Fig. 26), 46, 
cxxiii 

Polled Durham, cix, ex 

Pollination, 98, 99; carrying pollen, 
75, 99, xi; night workers, 99, 100; 
pollen from other plants, 100, 
xii 

Pop corn, 122 

Potash, 148, 180, 184, xxiv, xxxiv, 
xxxix, xl, Ixxxvii, xcvi; source, 
xlii; tliree forms, xlii; in clover, 
ci 

Potato beetle, 79, 142, 169, Ixxxi 
at work on plant (Fig. 77), 141 

Potato Clubs, 235 

Potatoes, Irish, 138-144, Ixxx- 
Ixxxiv, food for chickens, 54; 
clay soil not good for, 85; in ro- 
tation, 94, 190; early home, 138, 
Ixxx; in Ireland, 138, Ixxx; wide- 
ly-grown crop, 138; a tuber. 138, 
139, Ixxx; standard varieties 
I Fig. 76), 139; kinds of seed, 139, 
140; eyes, 102, 140; cutting seed, 
140; how to choose seed, 140- 
142, Ixxxiii; climate and soil, 142; 
cultivation, 142, Ixxxiv; insect 
enemies, 142, Ixxxi; potato bug 
(Fig. 77), 141, Ixxxi; diseases, 
142, 143, Ixxxii; harvesting, 143, 
144, Ixxxi; field yielding 350 
bushels per acre (Fig. 78), 143; 
average yield in U. S., Ixxxi; 
machinery, 144; uses of, 144, 
Ixxxii; mulching for. 191; plant- 
ing, Ixxxi; comparison with re- 
gard to labor. Ixxxii; cost of pro- 
duction, Ixxxii; difficulty in rais- 
ing, Ixxxii; keeping qualities, 
Ixxxii; effect on soil, Ixxxii; how 
to obtain best prices, Ixxxiii; 
cooperation in raising, Ixxxiii; 
more valuable than grain, 
Ixxxiv; why plant early, Ixxxiv; 
distances apart, cliv; seed per 
acre and legal weight per bushel, 
cliv 

Potatoes, sweet, 102, 145, 146; a 
root, 145; its home, 145; climate 
and soil, 145; planting, 145, xv; 
cultivation, 145, 146; harvesting, 
146; storing crop, 146; uses of, 
146; fertilizer, clii 

Poultry, 49-57, cxxvi-cxxlx; orig- 
inal home, 49; value to farmer, 

49, cxxvi; eggs, 49-51, 54; meat- 
producing, 50, cxxvi; egg-pro- 
ducing, 50, cxxvi; game chickens, 
50; general purpose, 50, 51, cxxvi; 
Cochins, 50, cxxvi; Brahmas 
(Fig. 30), 50, cxxvi; Leghorns. 

50. cxxvi; Minorcas, 50. cxxvi; 
Bantams, 50; Plymouth Rocks 



clxvi 



ELEMENTAEY AGEICULTUEE 



(Fig. 31), 51, cxxvi; Wyandottes, 
51 (Fig. 32), 52; Rhode Island 
Reds, 51, cxxvi; habits, 51; nests, 
51, 52; in pens, 53; care of hen- 
house, 53, cxxvii, cxxviii ; sanitary 
poultry house (Fig. 33), 55; lay- 
ing hens, 53, 54; hatching little 
chicks, 54; how to care for the 
brood, 54, 55; chicken lice, 55, 
cxxvii; brooder chicks, 55, 56; 
incubator babies (Fig. 34), 56; 
fattening broilers, 56, 57; poul- 
try pests, 57; protection from 
cold, cxxvii; winter food, cxxvii; 
ration for laying hens, cxxviii; 
digestive tract of, cxxix 
Preserving foods, 213-215, cxliv- 
cxlvii; germs which help and 
hinder, 213, cxliv; yeast plant, 

213, cxliv, cxlv; making bread, 
213; mold. 213, 214, cxliv, cxlv; 
canning fruit, 214, cxlv; bacteria, 

214, cxliv, cxlv, cxlvii; smoking 
meats, 214, 215, cxivi; cold stor- 
age, 215, cxlvi; preserving fruits, 

215, cxlv, cxlvi; souring of milk, 
215; bacteria in butter and cider, 
215, cxlvii; pectin, cxlv; drying 
fruits and meats, cxlv; indica- 
tion of germs, cxlvi; sugar as a 
preservative, cxlvi 

Protelds in feeds, cxxxi, cxxxii, 

cxxxvi, cxxxviii 
Protein, xcv; in clover, ci, cii 
Prunes, 170 
Puddling, 209 
Pumpkins, cliv 
Pupa, 64 

Quail, ffee Bobwhite 
Questions, One Thousand, an- 
swered, vii-cxlvii 
Quinces, xlv, Ixviil, cllv 

Radishes, 96, 187, 190, 193, cliv 

Ragweed, 81, Ixii 

Raisins, 198 

Rakes, hand-dump (Fig. 83), 158; 

self-dump (Fig. 84), 159 
Rambouiliet, cxx 
Rape, 47, cxxxviii 
Raspberries, 198, 199, cliv 
Rats, 57, 79 
Razor backs, 46 
Reap liook, 127, 132; ancient tool 

for reaping grain (Fig. 69), 127 
Reaper, 133, 134; the first (Fig. 

73), 134 
Red-bird, xee Cardinal 
Red-headed Woodpecker (Fig. 48), 

77, 78 
Red Polled, cxi, cxii 
Red rust, 199 

Reef knot or square knot, 12 
Regurgitate, cxxx 



Rhode Island Reds, 51, cxxvi 

Rhubarb, cliv 

Rice, 126, 138, 177, xiv; growing, 
178; products and enemies, 178, 
179 

Rice-stock borer, 179 

Roads, country, 201-212, cxi-cxivii; 
importance of good roads, 201, 
xvii; sociability encouraged, 201, 
cxl; good roads and schools, 201, 

202, cxl; city people interested, 
202; marketing farm produce, 

203, cxl, cxiii, cxiiii; first expert 
road builders. 204; roads abroad 
and at home, 204; plantation 
mud pikes, 204, 205; earlv roads, 
205; toll roads, 205, 206; working 
out road tax, 206, cxIi; every 
township should own a steam 
roller (Fig. 103). 206; a better 
way, 206, 207; state's part, 207; 
drainage, 207, 208, cxii; grading 
and draining are essential to 
good roads (Fig. 104), 207; grad- 
ing, 208; grading a country road 
(Fig. 105), 210; surfacing clay 
roads, 208; sand roads, 208; loam 
roads, 208, 209; split-log drag, 
209, cxlii; other aids to good 
roads, 209, cxiiii; a gravel and 
shell surfacing, 209, 210; stone 
roads. 210; Roman roads, 210; 
macadam, 210, 211, cxii; brick, 
212; a brick road raises value 
of farm land (Fig. 101), 203; a 
brick road needs little care and 
repair and brings the market 
nearer (Fig. 102), 205; laying a 
brick road (Fig. 106), 211; draft 
on different surfaces, 212, cxiiii; 
pulling up hill, 212, cxiiii; usual 
width, cxl 

Robins, 78 

Rock phosphate, 95 

Root cap, vii 

Root hairs, vii; use of, viii, xxv, 

xxvi 
Roots, purpose of, vii; will not go 

below water table, xxxi 
Rotation of crops, 92, 93; good 

reasons for, 93, 94; weeds 

checked by, 93; in the north, 94; 

in potato states. 94; for cotton, 

94, 148; for corn, 94. 120 
"Royal jelly," 72 
Ruminating animals, cxxx 
Rust, 131 
Rye, 92, 113, 115, 126, 181, xiv, 

cxxxviii, cliv 

Salsify, 193, cliv 

Sanitation, farm, 216-224; location 
of farmhouse, 216; dry surround- 
ings, 216; shade, 217; water sup- 
ply, 217; sewage a source of dis- 



INDEX 



clxvii 



ease, 217, 218; river water, 218; 
mosquitoes, 218, 219; house fly, 

219, 220; milk a germ carrier, 

220, 221, cxivii; ventilating the 
barn, 221 ; cold air heavier than 
warm, 221; home ventilation, 

221, 222; school ventilation, 222, 
223; a well-ventilated country 
school (Fig. 108), 222; school 
lighting, 223; the first top-lighted 
school (Fig. 109), 224; poultry 
houses, cxxvii, cxxviii 

Sap, office of, ix 

Scab, the, 142, 143, Ixxxii 

Scale insects, 79, 170; black olive 
scales, 81; San Jose, Ivii, lix, oil 

School, The Club and, 238 

School lighting, 223; first top- 
lighted school (Fig. 109), 223 

School ventilation, 222, 223; a well 
ventilated country school (Fig. 
108), 222 

Schools, Agriculture in, 230 

Seed, 98; how scattered, 101, xv; 
main aim of plant, xi; purpose of, 
xii; growth of, xii, xlii; quantity 
of, per acre, cliv 

Self-binder, 134, 135; modern 
binder (Fig. 74), 135 

Sewage, 217, 218 

Shade, 217; every farm needs its 
shade and water easily accessi- 
ble (Fig. 1), frontispiece; all 
farm stock need shade (Fig. 24), 
41 

Sheep, 34-43, cxx-cxxii; wild, 34; 
taming, 34; where sheep live, 35; 
use of, 35, 36, Ixiv; cxx; mutton 
breeds, 36, 38, cxx; wool breeds, 
36, cxx, cxxi; Merinos, 36-38, 
cxx, cxxi; Merino ram (Fig. 21), 
36; cattle and sheep, 37, cxxi; 
Shropshires, 38; Southdowns, 
38; dogs and sheep, 37, 38; food 
for sheep, 39, 40, cxxii, cxxxvii; 
fattening lambs, 40; weaning 
lambs, 40; shepherds, 40; shear- 
ing, 41-43; Dorset ewe and lamb 
(Fig. 25), 42; farms, 43; com- 
pared with cattle and hogs. 
cxx, cxxi; stomach of, exxx; 
shelter, cxxii; fencing, cxxii; see 
also names of sheep 

Sheepshearers, 41-43 

Shepherd dog, 37, 38 

Shepherds, 40 

Shetland ponies, cxv 

Shire, the, 5, cxv 

Shoeing the horse, 11 

Shorthorns, IS (Figs. 9 and 17), 
17, 27, cix, ex; Bates, ex, cxi 

Shropshires, 38, cxx; ram (Fig. 
22), 37 

Sickle, see Reap hook 

Silage, Ixxvii-lxxviii 



Silkworms, 61, 65, lii 

Silos, 124, Ixxvi-lxxvii; building. 
125; filling the silo (Fig. 68), 124 

Slip knot, running noose or halter 
knot, 12 

Smartweed, 81 

Smut, 131 

Soils, 84-95; the farmer and, xvi- 
xxxiii; what they do, 84; light, 
84; heavy, 84, 85; crops for clay, 
85; loam, 85; what the soil eon- 
tains, 85; plant food, 86, 87, 
xvlii-xix, xxii-xxv; humus, 87- 

88, xxxii-xxxiii; soil and surface 
water, 88; why clay soils are 
wet. 88, 89; holding water for 
plants, 89, xxvii-xxviii; impor- 
tance of drainage, 89, xxxi, 
xxxii; good soil contains air, 

89, 90; how to drain swampy 
land, 90; farmer's bacteria 
friends, 91, xxlil; bacteria and 
clover, 91 ; growing several 
crops, 92; not too many crops, 
92; rotation of crops, 92-94; 
green manuring, 94, xxxiii; phos- 
phorus a plant food, 95; keeping 
up the land, 95; importance of 
tillage, 104-106, xxv-xxvil; vir- 
gin, xviii; inoculation, xxiii, xciv 

Sorghum, xiv, cxxxviii 

Southdowns, 38, cxx; prize ewe 
(Fig. 23), 39 

Sow bug, xlviii 

Sow thistle, Ixv, Ixvi 

Soy beans, 91, 156, xxii, xxxiii, 
Ixxxvi, xciii 

Spanish breed, cxxvi 

Sparrows, 82, 83; tree, 81 

Spinach, 190 

Split-log drag, 209, cxlii 

Spraying, 168, 169; apples (Figs. 
38, 39), 62, 63; outfit for the or- 
chard (Fig. 91), 171; the suc- 
cessful orchardist always sprays 
(Fig. 92), 173 

Squash bug, llv, Ivi 

Squashes, 113, 187, 190, 196, Ivi, 
cliv 

Stable, see Barns 

Stains, how to remove, cxlviii- 
cxlix 

Stamen, the, 98, 99, xi, xii 

Starch, 125, 137, 144, 146. xix 

Sterilizing, 214, cxlv 

Stick tights, 101, xv 

"Stink bug," 197 

Stock, feeding of, cxxix-cxi; 
horses, 8-10, cxxxviii; beef cat- 
tle, 18-20, cxxxv-cxxxvii; dairy 
cows, 25 - 26, cxxxiv, cxxxv, 
cxxxvi, cxxxviii. cxxxix; sheep, 
39-40, cxxxvii; swine. 46, 47, 
cxxxv. cxxxvii, cxxxviii; poul- 
try, 53-56, 59-60; use of food, 



clxviii 



I ELEMENTAKY AGEICULTUEE 



cxxix; digestive tracts of ani- 
mals, cxxix, cxxx; ruminants, 
cxxx, cxxxi; Ave nutrients in 
feeds, cxxxi, cxxxii; nutritive 
ratio, cxxxii; balanced ration, 
26, 163, xciv, xcv, cxxxiii, 
cxxxvii; deficient ration, cxxxiii; 
maintenance ration, cxxxiii, 
cxxxv; growing ration, cxxxiii; 
work ration, cxxxiii; rougliage, 
cxxxiii, cxxxi V, cxxxviii; con- 
centrates, cxxxiii, cxxxiv; green 
feeds, cxxxiv; salt, cxxxiv; 
grinding food, cxxxiv, cxxxv; 
effect of shelter on feeding, 
cxxxvi; forage crops, 161-lfi3, 
cxxxviii; feeds valuable as fertil- 
izers, xxxiv 

Stomata, ix; uses of, ix, x 

Strawberries, lfi4, 199, 200, xiv; 
nothing so fine as home-grown 
strawberries (Fig. 100), 199. cliv 

Sugar beets, 175-177, xiv; how dis- 
covered. 175; a field (Fig. 93), 
176; preparation and soil, 176, 
177; harvesting, 177 

Sugar cane, 174-175; planting, 102, 
174, 175, xv; harvesting, 175 

Sulphate of Ammonia, xli 

Swallows, 78, 83 

Sweet corn, 190, 194, 195, cliv 

Swine, 44-48, cxxii-cxxv; wild 
boar. 44, cxxii; improving hogs, 
44; protecting hogs, 44, 45; a 
SQuare deal, 45; their snouts, 45; 
best breeds, 45, cxxiii; Poland- 
China, 45; a prize (Fig. 26), 46: 
Chester-white, 45, cxxiii; Du- 
roc- Jersey, 45, cxxiii; Cheshire, 
46; pig (Fig. 27), 47; for lard or 
bacon, 46, cxxiii; kind to raise. 
46; what they eat, 46, 47, 
cxxxvii, cxxxviii; good feeders 
(Fig. 28), 47; eastern and west- 
ern hog farms, 47; cholera, 48, 
cxxiv, cxxv; a pig sends a boy 
to college, 48; Berkshires (Fig. 
29), 48; pigs and chickens. 57; 
advantages and disadvantages 
of liog raising, cxxiv; brood 
sows, cxxiv, cxxv 

Swiss chard, 194 

Tamworth breeds, cxxiii 

Tankage, xli 

Thistles, Ixv 

Tiling, xxxi, xxxii 

Tillage, 103-111, xxv-xxviii; sow- 
ing and reaping in olden times, 
103; wearing out the soil, 104; 
Jethro Tull, 104; fields in poor 
and good tilth (Figs. 55a. 55b), 
105v feeding plants. 105. 106, 
xyvi; keeping moisture in the 
soil. 106, xxvii, xxviii; dust 



mulch. 106, 107, xxviii; dry 
farming, 107; other advantages 

Timber hitch, 13 

Timothy, 87. Ixxxix-xciii, xcv; a 
field (Fig. 82), 157; name, Ixxxlx; 
why popular, Ixxxix; soil, Ixxxix; 
seed, xc-xcii; fertilizer, xci, cliii; 
rotating crqp, 94, xci; for feed- 
ing, 9, xiv, xci, xcii, cxix; dis- 
advantages, xcii,. xciii; com- 
pared with clover, xcviii, ci, cii; 
seed per acre and legal weights 
per bushel, cliv 

Tobacco, 113, 179-181; a heavy 
crop and drying barn (Fig. 94), 
178; drying and curing (Fig. 95), 
179; fertilizer, 180; curing, 180, 
181 

Tomato Canning Clubs, 236 

Tomatoes, 187, 189-191, 197, xiii, 
xiv, clii, cliv 

Trees, effect of girdling, xiii; fruit 
killed by overbearing, xiii; see 
also names of trees 

Trotting horse, American (Fig. 6), 
7, cxv; mares and colt (Fig. 
7), 9 

Tuberculosis, 220, 221 

Tull, Jethro, 104 

Turkeys, 58-59; bronze (Fig. 35), 58 

Turnips, 10, 39, 54, 85, 190, 192, 
193, 196, xiv, cliv 

Typhoid, 217, 218, 220 

Urus, the, 16 

Vegetable oyster, see Salsify 
Vegetables, distances apart for 

planting, cliv; see also names 

of vegetables 
Velvet bean, xciii 
Ventilation, see Sanitation 
Vetch, xciii 
Vinegar, 215, cxlvii 

Warblers, 78 

Wasps, 61, 64, lii , 

Water, film moisture, xxx-xxxii; 
ground, xxx; table, xxx-xxxii 

Water supply, 217; river water, 
218 

Weavers' knot or sheet bend, 13 

Weeds, Ixi-lxvii; defined. Ixi; how 
+0 control, 122, 129, 142, 146, 190, 
(xii-lxiv; annual. Ixii-lxiv; effect 
of rotation of crops on, 93, 104. 
Ixiv; birds help to destroy, 81; 
stock helps to destroy, Ixiv; 
ci'ops help to destroy, Ixiv; bi- 
ennial. Ixv; perennial, Ixv-lxvii; 
liow to exterminate. Ixvii 

Weevil, bean. 192; "black." 179; 
cotton boll, 148, 154, 155; (Fig. 
43), 66, Ixxxviii. Ixxxix 



INDEX 



clxix 



Weights per bushel, legal, cliv 

Welsh ponies, cxv 

Wheat, 92, 95, 113, 115, 126-137, 
xiii, xiv, xxiv, Ixxviii - Ixxx, 
cxxxvlii; for calves, 20; for 
chickens, 54; on clay soil, 85, 
Ixxix; composition of, 87; white 
bread, 126; first wheat farmers, 
126; in Asia, 126; in America, 
127; in Europe and America, 
Ixxix; world's crop, 127, 128; va- 
rieties, 128; climate, 128, Ixxix; 
preparing soil, 128; sowing, 128, 
Ixxx; cultivation, 129; drill (Fig. 
70), 129; in Japan, 129; cradle 
(Figs. 71, 72), 130, 131, 132; in 
rotation, 94, 130, xci: enemies, 
130, 131; harvest, 131; sickle, 
132 (Fig. 69), 127; animal power, 
132; header, 132, 133: reaper, 133, 
134; the first (Fig. 73). 134; self- 
binder, 134, 135; modern binder, 



(Fig. 74), 135; combined harvest- 
ers. 135, 136; shocks of golden 
grain (Fig. 75). 136; steam har- 
vesters, 136, 137; liow much we 
eat, 137; other uses, 137, Ixxx; 
new kind, 137; higher priced 
than other grains, Ixxviii; food 
elements, Ixxix; " bonanza " 
wheat farms, Ixxix; fertilizer, 
clii; seed per acre and legal 
weight per bushel, cliv 

Wheat bran, xxxiv 

Whey, 32 

Window box, 187 

Woodpecker, see Red - headed 
Woodpecker 

Wren, 82 

Wyandottes, 51; pen of white 
(Fig. 32), 52 

Yeast, 213, cxiiv, cxlv 
Yorkshires, cxxiii 



DEC 4 ?913 



